Here are recent Fire Chief's columns from
The Arizona Republic
City
of Phoenix Public Information Office - News Clippings - azcentral.com
- December 5, 2009
Slow down frantic pace and enjoy holiday season
The storm is coming. Within the blink of an eye, roasty August turns into the holidays. Phoenix is different than other cities this time of year. We will be outside in shorts and flip-flops doing yard work or painting the house while people in Minnesota or Upstate New York will be fighting ice and frigid temperatures. This is a great place to live. The Phoenix storm I’m referring to is the stress of shopping, cooking, decorating, and entertaining out of town guests. It all crashes into your lap, and there is never enough time to get things done.
Putting up my outside lights ended without incident this year minus a few scrapes and bruises. I recognized why neurosurgeons warn about the use of home ladders. While on a fire truck we had very specific procedures to place a ladder. At home, I was freelancing and nearly gave my poor wife a heart attack. The electrical supply was within the minimum limits, however, I’m not done and it will be tempting to overload the system. I will resist the surge, and please do us all a favor, be careful on those ladders.
Preparing the meal is always an adventure. In some ways it reminds me of cooking at the fire station. All the guests help out in getting dinner on its way, there is confusion, competition, and a little taste testing. One thing I battle with each year is keeping the kids out of the cooking area. Boiling pots, knives, ovens, and the occasional broken glass is no environment for small children. It really can be a dangerous place for toddlers; in fact, it is bad enough for us nutty adults. During the cooking spree, make sure you have someone accounting for the young ones, especially if you have a swimming pool or live next to a busy street. In all this chaos it is easy to lose track of the children.
Bringing the holiday into your home should be a great experience from grandparents to the newest grandchildren. It is always a crazy time and should be enjoyed by all. No matter what your faith or traditions represent, this time of year is different. I hope that everyone slows down a little and that we all make good decisions. Candles, trees, lights and cooking are all part of the drill, and they can all be managed safely with a little thought and due diligence. As a firefighter you always hate seeing tragedy, but the holidays just add to the weight of a serious injury or fire.
Our firefighters will be out there running on calls like they always do, but I’m sure every one of them will be dreading the bad car wreck, Christmas tree or chimney fire, scalding burn call, or drowning incident. Let’s all slow it down a little and look out for some of these things that can bite us when we least expect it. Happy holidays. Be safe.
Send comments to Bob Khan at firechief.pfd@phoenix.gov or call (602) 26-CHIEF.