Houstonian Corner (V14-I4)

Many Cases of Cooking Fire Damages in Houston – Recent One in Southeast Houston Apartment

On Friday, January 13, 2012, a small cooking fire caused about $10 thousand in damage to a southeast Houston apartment. The Houston Fire Department was dispatched to the apartment fire in the 8200 block of Park Place Blvd. about 5:30 p.m. and arrived on scene within five minutes. Upon arrival, firefighters located a fire in the kitchen and tapped out the incident within 15 minutes. Approximately 30 firefighters responded to the incident. There were no reported injuries.

HFD reminds residents that cooking is the number one cause of residential fires and is preventable by following these safety tips:

-          Always, have a working smoke detector!
-          Over half the people attempting to extinguish a kitchen fire are injured. Often the best advice is to get everyone out of the house and call the fire department (911) from a neighbor’s house.
-          Use a moderate cooking temperature
-          Don’t overfill the container
-          If you must leave the kitchen, turn the burner off (Unattended cooking is the primary cause of kitchen fires. Over half of these are grease/oil fires.)
-          Turn pot handles away from the front of the stove. Curious children may reach up and grab the handle, pulling the hot contents down on themselves.
-          Don’t position handles over another burner, it may catch on fire or burn someone who touches it.
-          Wear short sleeves or tight fitting long sleeves when cooking to reduce a clothing fire hazard.
-          Shield yourself from scalding steam when lifting lids from hot pans.
-          Make sure pot holders are not too close to the stove. They could catch fire!
-          Keep ovens, broilers, stove tops, and exhaust ducts free from grease.
-          If there is a fire in the oven – Turn off the oven and keep the oven door closed.
-          Never try to move the pan, don’t throw water on it, and don’t put flour on it.
-          If you attempt to extinguish the fire, it is best to use a class ABC multipurpose fire extinguisher. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions – stay back 6 to 8 feet and be careful not to spray the grease out of the pan. Baking soda can also smother the fire. Fires can double in size every 30 second.

TxDOT Sets Small Business Briefing Series in Austin, Houston

Community Entrepreneurs’ Should Attend

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will conduct its Small Business Briefing Series in Austin and Houston. The briefings are designed to provide small businesses with information regarding how to do business with TxDOT and other major state agencies such as the Department of Information Resources, Health and Human Services, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and others. The Small Business Briefing will provide information on how these agencies procure services and purchase products. General industry sessions will include an overview of TxDOT construction projects, professional services (engineering), consulting contracts and state contracting for information technology products and services. Those attending will also have an opportunity to bid on On-the-Spot contracts under $25,000. To participate in the On-the-Spot contracting, participants must register online at http://tti.tamu.edu/conferences/sbb12/. The Austin briefing will be held Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the Norris Conference Center http://www.norriscenters.com – 2525 West Anderson Lane, and the Houston briefing will be Thursday, March 1, at the OMNI Houston Hotel Westside- 13210 Katy Freeway. For exhibitor and individual registration, please visit http://tti.tamu.edu/conferences/sbb12/ For more information, contact Alta Alexander at 512- 486-5524.

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