The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control held a live burn demonstration Tuesday morning as part of Fire Prevention Week.

The demonstration, in collaboration with the Fairmount Fire Protection District, included a kitchen grease fire in line with this year’s campaign, “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen.”

“A cooking fire can grow quickly,” DFPC Chief Chris Brunette said. “I have seen many homes damaged and people injured by fires that could easily have been prevented.”

Cooking is the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries, according to DFPC. These fires are most often a result of unattended cooking.

This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign aims to educate people about the simple actions they can take to remain safe in the kitchen.

Safety tips include never leaving the kitchen when cooking, using cooking timers and keeping flammable items such as oven mitts, food packaging, towels, wooden utensils or curtains away from the stovetop.

When facing a small grease cooking fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed if in the oven and smother the fire with a lid and turn the burner off if on the stove.

Fire Prevention Week has been observed by the National Fire Protection Association since 1922, becoming nationally observed in 1925. It is the longest-running public health observance in the U.S.

Fire Prevention Week is observed on the week of Oct. 9 each year in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire, which killed over 250 people and destroyed more than 17,400 structures, leaving 100,000 homeless.