Anchorage firefighters on Wednesday issued a list of best practices to avoid fires caused by cooking, as state officials listed the likely cause of a Saturday fire that killed two young girls as "unattended cooking."
Anchorage Fire Department spokesman John See said Wednesday that three of Anchorage's six fire fatalities so far this year have been linked to cooking.
An online list of Alaska fire fatalities maintained by the state Division of Fire and Life Safety listed "unattended cooking" as the heat source in the Saturday fire at the Riviera Terrace Trailer Court that killed 1-year-old Aleyiah Poulin and her sister, 3-year-old Lily Poulin. See said Wednesday that Anchorage firefighters couldn't confirm that, however.
"It's still an active investigation," See said.
Members of the Poulin family had previously told Alaska Dispatch News that the girls' father, John Poulin, had been cooking dinner shortly before the fire at about 1 a.m. Saturday. When the fire broke out, relatives said he ordered the family's 6-year-old son Nathaniel out of the home, then ran to a bedroom in an attempt to rescue the girls.
Firefighters said Nathaniel was unhurt, but Lily died at the scene. John and Aleyiah were critically injured and flown to the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where family members said Aleyiah died and John remained in treatment this week.
Megan Peters, a spokesperson for the state Department of Public Safety, said that details regarding fires on the state's fire fatality list are generally updated after receiving information from local authorities.
"Our information is determined by what's reported to us by other agencies," Peters said.
Anchorage's first fatal fire of the year occurred on May 6, when a child was killed in a burning duplex on Fred Circle in South Anchorage. August saw two more people die in fires, including an Aug. 22 blaze linked to cooking that killed a man in an East 43rd Avenue apartment building, and a fire three days later that killed a man and his dog in an East Anchorage trailer.
Prior to the Poulin girls' deaths, the city's most recent fire fatality was on Nov. 6 at a home on Lake Otis Parkway. An unconscious man found in a hallway of the home was given CPR and then hospitalized, but died later that day.
See said Wednesday's warning about cooking safety was prompted by alarm at the proportion of deaths in Anchorage related to cooking fires, after a year in which Anchorage firefighters have already responded to 26 fires that began in the kitchen -- with National Fire Prevention Association statistics showing a historical uptick nationwide in fires during the holidays. He urged residents to keep cooking safety in mind, especially ahead of situations where they may be tired, or had too much to drink.
"People need to think, when they're consuming alcohol or just generally fatigued from all the holiday activities we do this year," See said.
Sometimes, See said, the easiest way to avoid a cooking fire is simply to stop cooking if a distraction comes up.
"You don't want to leave the room," See said. "If you get distracted turn the cooking off, just to be safe."
Among the recommendations from Anchorage firefighters to avoid cooking fires and safely escape them should they occur:
• Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol don't use the stove or stovetop.
• Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, boiling or broiling food.
• If you are simmering, baking or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the kitchen while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
• Keep anything that can catch fire -- oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains -- away from your stovetop.
If you have a cooking fire
• Just get out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
• Call 911 or the local emergency number after you leave.
• If you try to fight the fire, be sure others are getting out and you have a clear way out.
• Keep a lid nearby when you're cooking to smother small grease fires. Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the stovetop. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.
• For an oven fire turn off the heat and keep the door closed.
Officials urged special caution when cooking with oil, including such tips as heating the oil slowly, turning the burner off if the oil starts to smoke or smell, and to use a lid to cover a pan that catches fire. Leave the lid on and let the pan cool for a long time, firefighters warn, and don't use water or a fire extinguisher on an oil fire.