Austin firefighters were dispatched 382 times in 2010. Fire officials believe many of those calls could have been prevented with better public awareness about fire dangers.

“The human factor is a huge factor in all fires,” Austin Fire Commander Tom Schulte said. “There’s really only one natural fire and that’s when lightning strikes. Fires are unpredictable; it’s about being aware of what you’re doing in your house.”

Almost half of all fires in Minnesota last year began in the kitchen, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Residential fires accounted for 76 percent of structure fires statewide.

Schulte said kitchen fires are easily preventable.

“A lot of times it’s unattended cooking,” Schulte said. “If you leave the stove on and quit watching it and forget something’s on the stove.”

Grease fires can also be a problem, especially because most people’s first instinct is to douse the flames with water. Snuffing out grease fires with baking soda is a safer and more effective route, Schulte said.

“If you put water on it, it can flare up and you can have an explosion,” he said. “The best thing to do is cover it or use an extinguisher or smother the fire out. Or you can use baking soda.”

Many kitchen fire prevention tactics come naturally once a person starts paying close attention to his or her surroundings.

Schulte suggested keeping an eye on the kitchen towel, napkins and paper towels when cooking. Flammable materials can easily get tossed on a hot burner if someone isn’t paying attention, he said.

Although some fires, especially those that start on the stove, can seem small and easily containable, Schulte said it’s always better to call 911 than to try to contain the blaze without firefighter assistance.

“The longer people wait to call us, the more that fire has the opportunity to progress,” he said. “Any delay in our response can have a huge impact on how much we can save in the building. I recommend calling right away.”

The Department of Public Safety reported that 39 people died in fires in 2010. None of those deaths were in Austin, although there were two fire-related injuries in the city. The most expensive fire in Austin in 2010 resulted in a residential loss valued at $125,000.

About one-third of Austin fire calls in 2010 were false alarms. Another 16 percent were “good intent” calls, meaning someone reports a potential

incident that ends up being unfounded, Schulte said. That means barely more than half of Austin’s fire calls in 2010 were actual fire and rescue situations, including residential, car, storage and field fires and car accident extrications.

Schulte said the best thing people can do to prevent fires is to pay attention.

“It’s simple, preventative stuff,” he said. “Accidents do happen, but it’s more or less people just needing to pay attention to their surroundings.”