Sunday September, 28 2025 @ 10:19

Nature: Automatic Fire Alarm – Residential Structure – Sloop Avenue

Location: 28093 Sloop Av Pots Nets Bayside, DE 19966

On Sunday morning, September 28th, the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company was alerted for an automatic fire alarm sounding in a residential structure on Sloop Avenue in the Pot Nets Bayside development off Long Neck Road. It was reported to be an automatic fire alarm going off in the residential structure.

Emergency response units from Indian River included Incident Command 80 from the Long Neck Area.

Emergency response crew completed an exterior evaluation of the residential structure and commenced with an interior evaluation determining that the activation was the result of a culinary mishap and cancelled all responding apparatus. 

All emergency response units were authorized to cancel and hold at their respective stations.

Culinary mishaps account for a significant number of residential fire alarm incidents, both actual fires and false alarms. Cooking is consistently the leading cause of residential fires, and even when a fire is avoided, smoke and steam from the kitchen frequently trigger smoke detectors.

Common causes of cooking-related false alarms:

• Even without an actual fire, cooking activity can generate enough smoke or steam to activate a fire alarm, especially when the detector is improperly placed.

• Burnt food: The most common cause of false alarms is burnt food, such as burnt toast or microwaved popcorn.

• Cooking fumes and grease: Sautéing, pan frying, and stir-frying can all produce enough fumes and cooking particles to set off a smoke alarm.

• Steam and high humidity: Dense water vapor from boiling water or a dishwasher can be misinterpreted as smoke by certain types of detectors, especially older ionization models.

• Poor detector placement: Placing a smoke alarm too close to a kitchen range is a leading cause of nuisance alarms. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends keeping smoke alarms at least 10 to 20 feet away from cooking appliances.