Battalion Chief, Steve Martin with the Columbus Division of Fire, said holidays can be busy for them. They do get a lot of EMS calls, whether it's someone suffering from a heart attack, food allergies or someone choking.
They also respond to calls for cooking fires and electrical fires.
"Cooking fires are responsible for about one-third of the residential fires that we respond to," Chief Martin said.
He said the department worries about sources of heat, such as open flames on a gas stove. Even if the countertop is full, he wants to remind everyone to keep everything away from the flames, such as plastic bags of food, napkins, or towels.
When cooking in the oven, make sure nothing spills out or over a pan.
"If there's a fire in the oven, keep the door shut and turn the heat off," Chief Martin said.
If a fire starts in a pan on the stove, he said to cover it with the lid or have a flat cookie sheet nearby. Smothering and suffocating the fire in the pan will decrease its oxygen intake.
Chief Martin said the last thing anyone in a panic situation should do is throw water on the fire or try to beat it out with a towel, which could make it spread.
As for anything electrical, like space heaters, make sure items are far away from it and keep anything off of the cords.
According to Chief Martin, a fire will double its size in two minutes and it takes firefighters four minutes to respond.
Crews will be ready to respond to any situation, and he said in those short minutes it's always best to call 911 and not try to battle it alone.