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Food brings family and friends together, especially around the holidays or during celebrations. As you prepare for all your fun family festivities, it is important to keep kitchen fire safety in mind to keep you and your loved ones safe.
Cooking Can Be Costly
The NFPA reports that U.S. fire departments respond to an average of 172,900 home fires a year involving cooking equipment. These fires cause about 49% of all reported home fires, 42% of home fire injuries, and 20% of home fire deaths. In the United States, Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires. They account for more than three times the daily average for such incidents. Christmas Day ranks second and Christmas Eve ranks third, both nearing double the daily home cooking fire average.
Kitchen Safety Tips
Follow these tips to protect you and your family when in the kitchen. Whether stirring up a quick dinner or creating a masterpiece four-course meal, here’s a recipe for safer cooking you need to use daily.
To Prevent a Cooking Fire in Your Kitchen
• Keep an eye on your cooking and stay in the kitchen. Unattended cooking is the #1 cause of cooking fires.
• Wear short or close-fitting sleeves. Loose clothing can catch fire.
• Watch children closely. When old enough, teach children to cook safely.
• Clean cooking surfaces to prevent food and grease build-up.
• Keep curtains, towels and pot holders away from hot surfaces and store solvents and flammable cleaners away from heat sources. Never keep gasoline in the house.
• Turn pan handles inward to prevent food spills.
To Put Out a Cooking Fire in Your Kitchen
• Call the fire department immediately. In many cases, dialing 911 will give you Emergency Services.
• Slide a pan lid over flames to smother a grease or oil fire, then turn off the heat andleave the lid in place until the pan cools. Never carry the pan outside.
• Extinguish other food fires with baking soda. Never use water or flour on cooking fires.
• Keep the oven door shut and turn off the heat to smother an oven or broiler fire.
• Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Make sure you have the right type and training.
• Keep a working smoke detector in your home and test it monthly.
