Waltham students, fire officials team up on video to prevent kitchen fires

House fires commonly start in the kitchen, where they can quickly spread to the rest of a home. A new video created in Waltham aims to reduce that risk by offering practical tips to prevent kitchen fires.

The public service announcement was produced by Waltham High School students in collaboration with the Waltham Fire Department and The Waltham Channel. It features Lt. John Ferrick of the Fire Department, senior Alex Stalmon and culinary arts instructor Vanessa Cosco.

Fire officials say the department responded to hundreds of calls in the past year for kitchen fires, most often caused by unattended cooking. Many of those incidents involved grease, which can ignite and spread rapidly.

To reduce the risk of kitchen fires, officials recommend:

• Keep stovetops clean by wiping up grease and oil.
• Keep flammable materials, such as food packaging, towels and paper products, away from heat sources.
• Turn pot and pan handles inward to prevent spills.
• Never put metal in a microwave, which can spark and start a fire.
• Never leave cooking unattended — “stand by your pan.”
• If a fire starts, cover it with a lid or cookie sheet to cut off oxygen.
• If clothing catches fire, stop, drop and roll.

The video is part of a broader educational effort involving students in Waltham High School’s TV Studio Program, who contributed as co-hosts, writers and producers. The collaboration expands the Fire Department’s Student Awareness of Fire Education program to include students in grades 9 through 12.

Members of the department’s Fire Prevention Bureau and S.A.F.E. team supervised the project, while staff from The Waltham Channel handled most of the production work, including filming and editing, and assisted with writing and production.