The Dakota County Fire Chiefs Association is amping up its fire prevention and aiming to decrease the number of kitchen fires in the county with a new kitchen fire prevention trailer.

Fire chiefs from across the county helped unveil the $30,000 trailer at a demonstration at the Eagan City Hall parking lot on May 5. The trailer will be shared between every city in the county for community events.

Kitchen fires are the most common type of fires in Dakota County, according to Eagan Fire Chief Mike Scott. There are about five or six kitchen fires in Eagan each year, he said. They're also the most severe type of fires the department sees. But the trailer demonstrations could assist in shrinking that number, Scott said.

"If we could prevent one kitchen fire, that's a positive thing," he said.

Scott said a few basic tips to avoiding kitchen fires include:

• Never leave cooking food unattended.

• Always keep a lid handy when cooking on the stovetop.

• Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and know how to properly use it.

If a fire does start, Scott said, the most important thing to do is call 911 and avoid fighting the fire on your own.

The trailer was donated by Flint Hills Resources, which operates a refinery in Rosemount.

Meghan Holden is a University of Minnesota student reporter on assignment for the Star Tribune.