By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News

The holidays bring with it several fire hazards, but those can be avoided by following safety tips.

Pontiac Fire Chief Scott Runyon gives information about what to avoid while cooking and baking.

“Make a three foot perimeter around your stove or cooktops and try to keep the kids away. Just make it as safe as possible so you don’t get splatter or burn injuries. Don’t accidentally leave food packaging and towels or other things lying around the stove to catch fire. When baking turkeys or hams, a three foot perimeter around your cooking areas comes into play when you’re opening the door. It comes down to approximately two feet out. Keep your kids back away from that. It’s very hot. Kids have a tendency to want to reach out and touch things. I can speak from experience that burns are not fun to deal with. They are probably the most painful thing you’ll ever have to deal with if you got burned. So, lets keep it safe,” Runyon said.

Runyon was a guest on a recent Community Forum where he gives tips with lighting, extension cords and other potential holiday fire hazards. That can be found at WJEZ.com.