According to a story in The News-Gazette, there have been an increase in kitchen fires in the Urbana, Illinois this year which prompted the Urbana Fire Department to take a proactive approach to the issue.

By releasing cooking safety tips to the public, the department along with the Champaign Fire Department seized an opportunity to take a timely news story and reinforce key safety behaviors. It is a lesson that all of us should take note of.

We can’t prevent every emergency from happening, but we CAN try to make a positive from a negative. Consider doing this the next time you have an incident that warrants a safety message.

If you need some help to get some quick facts, don’t forget the USFA’s Fact Sheets for News Stories. They contain the statistics and research to help put the numbers to the message that you are trying to deliver.

What do you think?