Fire prevention is serious business for Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad’s Fire Prevention Officer Tony Villani and Assistant Fire Prevention Officer Tony Saccaro. They want to make sure the public is aware that next week is National Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 3-9, while also helping Gloucester residents understand that fire prevention is important every day.

“Fire hazards are lurking in people’s homes,” said Villani. “Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, fire prevention is important, if not imperative.”

The most common room for a fire to start, said Villani, is the kitchen. A study by the National Fire Prevention Association determined that 47 percent of all house fires begin in the kitchen, and most of those start at the kitchen stove.

“Grease or cooking oil left on the stove can overheat, catch fire, and quickly spread to the cabinets above, the cabinets below, and the whole kitchen,” he said.

Villani recalled two local fires that were ...