Sparky and friends seek to stamp out kitchen fires

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Chase Hedrick
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Sparky the Fire Dog and firefighters from the 39th Civil Engineering Squadron offered a full week of fire prevention and safety events to members of Team Incirlik here Oct. 7 to 12.

The events were part of the annual fire prevention week established by the National Fire Protection Agency. This year the agency championed the theme "Prevent Kitchen Fires" and offered safety tips and items such as hot mitts to reinforce the message at home.

"Most home fires in the states are kitchen fires," said Ali Ozyesil, 39th CES assistant fire prevention chief. "The NFPA this year put out the theme 'Prevent Kitchen Fires.' So what we're asking is ... don't leave the kitchen unattended while you're cooking."

Turning pot handles inside to make them harder to bump over, not wearing loose garments around an open flame, and keeping a pan cover within arms distance while frying are just a few kitchen fire safety tips, Ozyesil said. He added that the new emergency number for on-base phones is 112 and should be called if a fire is ever out of control.

These tips, along with skills such as the fire crawl and stop, drop and roll were taught at the Sparky House to students at the Incirlik Unit School and others who wanted to attend.

"When we teach them young it's going stay through their lives, and they're going to have a safer life," Ozyesil said. "That's why we're concentrating on the kids, and we're trying to teach them stop drop and roll, the emergency number and how they're going to act during a fire alarm or emergency."

However, fires don't just affect children, and Mark Klemcke, 39th CES fire chief, emphasizes the strategy of reaching out to children about fire safety.

"The biggest impact we have with fire prevention is when we reach out to children" he said. "Of course, in turn they carry that message home and are really good, persistent little tykes if we as adults aren't doing what we're supposed to do."