A kitchen fire in the 3600 block of Bob Tolbert Road in Holley represents the second candle extinguished on the “Keep Your Holidays Bright” fire safety tree.
Crews from Holley-Navarre, Navarre Beach, Midway and Florosa fire departments responded. Santa Rosa Emergency Communications received the call at 3:17 p.m. and the first crews arrived by 3:27 p.m. to find the resident had extinguished the bulk of the fire.
The fire is estimated to have caused $15,000 in damage to the mobile home. No one was injured; however, a pet dog was lost in the fire.
The American Red Cross was called to assist the displaced resident.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, cooking is the leading cause of residential building fires in December, accounting for 41 percent of fires, followed by heating fires at 28 percent, open flame fires at nine percent, and incendiary/suspicious fires seven percent. Additional kitchen fire statistics from the U.S. Fire Administration, based on 2006-2010 annual averages:
• Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in home cooking fires.
• Two-thirds (67 percent of home cooking fires started with the ignition of food or other cooking materials).
• Clothing was the item first ignited in less than 1 percent of these fires, but these incidents accounted for 16 percent of the cooking fire deaths.
• Ranges accounted for the largest share (58 percent) of home cooking fire incidents. Ovens accounted for 16 percent.
• Three of every five (57 percent) reported non-fatal home cooking fire injuries occurred when the victims tried to fight the fire themselves.
• Frying poses the greatest risk of fire.
Santa Rosa County emergency service agencies are teaming up for the seventh yearto promote fire safety during the month of December with the “Keep Your HolidaysBright” campaign.
While a joyous time of year, cold weather, holiday decorationsand festivities can create serious fire dangers. Firefighters hope to reduce the number of fires in Santa Rosa County by promoting simple, life-saving holidaysafety tips throughout the month.
In the first year nine candles were extinguished on the safety tree, three in the second year, six in the 2009 campaign, four in 2010, six in 2011 and three in 2012.
For more fire safety tips, visit www.santarosa.fl.gov or follow on twitter @srcbocc.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Second fire in one day kills pet dog; $15,000 in damage to home