The Oshkosh Fire Department and Oshkosh Area Community Food Pantry distribute Stovetop Firestops, devices designed to reduce unattended cooking fires, April 2, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — “It’s basically a firefighter in a can.”
That’s how John Holland, public information officer for the Oshkosh Fire Department (OFD), describes the Stovetop Firestop.
OFD partnered with the Oshkosh Area Community Food Pantry to distribute the gadgets Tuesday, free of charge, to pantry visitors 60 years old and above. Holland said this age group was targeted because “they are at one of the highest risks of being injured or killed in a fire.”
Stovetop Firestops — essentially a pair of cans filled with a fire extinguishing agent — are designed to extinguish stove fires without any action being taken by residents. The devices are magnetically attached to a range hood and activate when flames trigger a fuse on the underside of the can.
“We have so many cooking fires. It is just astronomical the number of cooking fires we have,” Holland said. “Most of those, the ones that get out of hand, are unattended, where people leave the kitchen. So with this, you don’t even have to be in that kitchen and it’ll put it out.”
Because cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires in the United States, Holland said it is recommended every home owner have a Stovetop Firestop.
I think this is definitely something that everybody should have, because we all get distracted. Obviously, you still need the working smoke alarms and things like that, but this will put out the fire without you being there.
Holland said if a Stovetop Firestop extinguishes a fire at your home, you should still call the fire department afterwards as a precaution.
A pair of the gadgets can be purchased online for around $50, Holland said.
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