FIRE

Cooking is the leading cause of home fires and fire injuries, according to the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA). Ninety percent of all structure fires in Orange County occur in the kitchen, and seniors are especially at risk. The death rate for people over the age of 65 is twice the national average, and it nearly triples for those over the age of 75.

Between 2010 and 2015, Leisure World was averaging more than one signficant fire a year. In that period, at least seven fires were damaging enough to displace shareholders, most of them attributed to unattended stovetop cooking, improper storage of combustibles or smoking, according to news reports.

Among the most notable:

• In April 2010, OCFA responded to a structure fire in Mutual 9. That fire was contained to one unit.

• In June 2013, fire broke out in Mutual 7, and two units were red-tagged.

• In October 2014, two residents were displaced after fire broke out in a Mutual 3 building.

• In March 2015, an apartment fire in the 1600 block of Northwood Road in Mutual 11 displaced five people and damaged six units, fire officials said.

• On July 16, 2015, an oven fire caused the brief evacuation of Building 278 on Del Monte Road.

• On Sept. 25, 2015, firefighters were called to Building 218 on Foxburg Road in Mutual 9 in response to a report of smoke in the attic. Five units were damaged.

• On Sept. 26, 2015, a stovetop fire displaced a resident of Mutual 14.

Between 2004-2009, there were 31 accidental fires in Leisure World, which resulted in two deaths, two injuries and $1.6 million in property damage, according to news reports at the time. Notable among those fires was one caused by smoking in Mutual 8. The devastating fire broke out Feb. 17, 2009; the building was a total loss.

Since 2015, the rate of fires has sharply declined as more Mutuals have installed safety features, such as SmartBurners, a cooking system that electronically controls energy to burners. In 2015, the Orange County Fire Authority also began offering residential fire safety devices—a smoke alarm for the hearing impaired and a stovetop fire suppressor—free of charge to Leisure World residents. A fire safety grant funded the project.

SmartBurners are available for purchase as a special order through Service Maintenance.

For information, call 431-6586, ext. 369.

Also available for sale is an automatic stovetop fire suppressor that attaches directly above the stove and drops fire suppressing powder onto the burners if flames activate the unit.

The GRF Purchasing Department sells Auto-Out, which replaced the brand FireStop.

For more information on these and other fire prevention aids, call the Purchasing Department at 431-6586, ext. 306 or 308.