Sept. 29 -- NEW YORK -- More FDNY firefighters are getting burned, but it may not be how you think. According to the latest New York Mayor’s Management Report, there was a 32 percent spike in cooking injuries in firehouse kitchens.
Overall, there were 247 firefighter burns in fiscal year 2018, a 22 percent increase from 2017, according to the report. Forty-one of the 2018 burns were from cooking, up from 31 the year before. Another 41 occurred during facility and equipment maintenance, training, non-fire emergencies or an unspecified “other” incident.
In response to the increase in burns, the FDNY gave firefighters tips on how to avoid injuries in the kitchen and with equipment in firehouses.
“We have a web-based training platform which describes safe practices in the workplace,” FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon told the New York Post. “We also have Safety Bulletins that have been shared with members regarding safe operations both in and outside quarters.”
Preparing food is the leading cause of fire injuries and home fires, and unattended cooking is responsible for a third of these blazes, according to an FDNY flier on kitchen safety.
The FDNY recommends cooks pay attention to the food, wear short or tight-fitting sleeves so they don’t ignite, keep a “pot lid handy to smother a pan fire” and stay in the kitchen. In other words, “Stand by your pan!” the FDNY said.
Overall, FDNY firefighter injuries are up since 2017, from 9,643 to 9,789 last fiscal year. The total number of injuries increased 13 percent in the last five years, while firefighter burns jumped 33 percent during the same time, according to city figures.
