Lebanon district lauds sprinklers, offers safety tips

LEBANON - At about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Lebanon Fire District received a report of smoke coming from a unit on the ground level of apartment building F at 142 E. Elmore St.

Upon firefighters' arrival, they found one sprinkler head in the apartment had activated and extinguished the fire. Damage was minimal.

The district strongly recommends the installation of sprinkler systems in all new construction. For more information, contact the LFD Fire Prevention Office at 541-451-1901.

Also, LFD issued several reminders about grease fires.

The most important thing you can do to prevent a fire in the kitchen is to stay by the stove when preparing food. The National Fire Protection Association reports that unattended cooking is the leading cause of home cooking fires.

You only have a few moments to either put out a grease fire or escape the house. Here's what to do:

• Start evacuating everyone from the building. Fires spread fast.

• Call 911. There's no reason to wait, and all fires should be investigated to make sure they are completely extinguished.

• Do not put water on a grease fire. It will not extinguish the fire but will cause the burning oil to splash, spreading the fire.

• Do not try to carry the fire outside. Trying to carry a pot or pan full of burning oil will just slosh and splash the grease fire.

• The easiest way to smother a grease fire is to cover it with a metal pan lid. Don't use glass lids because they can break from the extreme heat of open flame.

• Grease fires can also be smothered with baking soda, but it takes a lot. Unless the baking soda is easily accessible, it's usually easier to quickly find a lid. A dry chemical fire extinguisher will also work.

• If your clothes catch on fire, stop, drop and roll to extinguish them.