BANGOR, Maine — Fire prevention week begins on Monday and this year's slogan is "Cooking safety starts with you."
American Red Cross regional communications manager Dan Dowling said Red Cross workers have responded to nearly 200 home fires in Maine this year.
Old Town Fire Captain Adam Martell said people often fall victim to habit and fail to properly prepare for the possibility of an emergency.
"It's our nature to think nothing will happen to us, and this could never happen in our home," Martell said.
Dowling said cooking fires are one of the most common causes of home fires and injuries.
"I can tell you that the Red Cross responds to a disaster or a home fire every eight minutes—so home fires are occurring all across the country all the time," Dowling said.
According to the Bangor Fire Department, having a working smoke detector in your home is a critical part of fire safety because it gives an early warning that is needed for people to evacuate in time in case of a fire.
People often disable smoke detectors. Dowling said he finds that people are sometimes annoyed by smoke alarms for various reasons.
"Maybe they're not working properly," Dowling said. "Maybe the batteries are malfunctioning, and sometimes an inadvertent smoke in the kitchen creates an alarm in your home."
Dowling said smoke detectors are becoming more advanced, and people should make sure that their smoke alarms are up-to-date and functioning.
He said there should also be smoke alarms installed on each level of the home, and detectors should be tested regularly.
Dowling said the Red Cross has installed nearly 800 free smoke alarms in the state, and people can request a free smoke alarm online. Fires spread quickly, and the sooner that you become aware of a fire, the better.
"When a fire is in your home, you have two minutes to escape," Dowling said.
The Bangor Fire Department said at least two out of three fire deaths happen in homes that don't have smoke alarms or in homes that have smoke alarms that do not work.
Martell said seeing unfortunate outcomes caused by fires is the hardest part of his job.
"That's one of the worst things that we see on our job are the tragedies. And seeing something that could be preventable definitely is heartbreaking," Martell said. "And knowing that somewhere along the lines they were probably taught the safe ways to do it. And just, you second guess yourself, you know, why did they do it this way? There's really no answer and we never find the answers."
Not only can house fires be devastating to families, but these sometimes-preventable fires also put a strain on first responders.
"The resources that these fires take—communities are having a harder time getting volunteers and staffing fire departments now," Martell said. "So, it’s big. It takes a lot of resources for a fire and some of these communities don’t have the luxury of having the resources."
Martell said people can do a number of things to prevent cooking fires.
"Supervising your food while you’re cooking it, staying in the kitchen and not going in the living room and watching the rest of the football game while you cook things," Martell said.
American Red Cross suggests that people use a timer when cooking, refrain from wearing loose clothing that can easily catch fire in the kitchen, and check food regularly.
Dowling said families should also have a working fire extinguisher, keep towels away from the stove, and keep the stove clear if it's not in active use. He said there should also be a rescue and escape plan in place, and everyone in the home should be familiar with what a smoke alarm sounds like.
Dowling said setting a designated spot to meet after escaping a house fire is also important.