BOARDMAN Official issues warnings on safety

A study found many children do not awaken when a smoke detector goes off.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Fire department officials are warning residents here -- especially restaurant cooks and kitchen help -- of the dangers involved in handling kitchen fires.
The warning comes on the heels of a kitchen fire at the Great China Buffet in the Shops at the Park that sent one man to the burn center at Akron Children's Hospital with second- and third-degree burns over 57 percent of his body.
Lt. Jim McCreary said Zheng Shi Xiang, 50, of Youngstown was cooking at the restaurant Monday when a grease fire was started in a pan. Xiang, he said, tried to take the pan outdoors but bumped into a wall -- spilling flaming grease on his body.
An off-duty township police officer working as a security guard at the plaza found the man outside with several other employees trying to extinguish the flames with snow. Xiang was taken, unconscious, to the Akron burn center. He has since regained consciousness but is still on a ventilator and listed in critical condition.
McCreary said Xiang's handling of the fire was incorrect.
"Basically, we want to reiterate to those in the business community the proper way to handle this type of fire," he said.
Commercial kitchens should be equipped with a fire suppression system that would extinguish such fires automatically, said McCreary, but an individual should cover the flames with a lid or pan and turn the heating source off. He said the burning pan should never be removed from the stove.
Child safety
McCreary said there is also new information for parents regarding children and smoke detectors. Citing a study by the North Shore Fire Department in Wisconsin, McCreary said many children do not wake up from a deep sleep when a smoke detector goes off.
"Smoke detectors are still viable and a cornerstone to the fire prevention and education message, but parents need to know that many of these kids are not waking up to the sound of a detector," he said. "In the event of a fire, do not assume kids have heard the alarm and are right behind you in getting out. Physically wake them up and get the kids out."
To avoid confusion in an emergency, McCreary said having a well-rehearsed escape plan in the home is necessary.
Local firefighters will come together sometime early next year to discuss the findings of the study, McCreary said.
jgoodwin@vindy.com