Preventing Kitchen Fires

Basic rules

Preventing Kitchen Fires

In the Nick of Time

If your local fire department offers home fire-hazard assessments, sign up for one. Professionals often spot things that others take for granted.

If you're like most people, you've seen and heard messages on fire prevention and safety since you were a kid. Who doesn't remember Smokey the Bear? Chances are pretty good that you've retained a lot of it. But it's pretty easy to get lax about things, especially when life gets busy.

We won't give you any Smokey lectures here. You know you shouldn't play with matches. You know smoke detectors are an essential element in home decor. (You do, right? If you don't, get this wisdom, and fast. If your home doesn't have hard-wired detectors, buy and install battery-powered ones, and make sure you keep them in proper working order.)

But we will say this: The best way to deal with kitchen fires is to keep them from happening in the first place. You, and everyone else who uses the kitchen in your home, are the biggest players in this equation.

Home Economics Redux

If you're a woman and a baby boomer, you probably received cooking lessons as part of your home economics education in junior high. If you're not or you didn't, you may not have learned the basics of food preparation.

Even if you did, your skills may have become a bit sloppy over the years. So, let's review the basics. This isn't everything you need to know, but it will go a long way toward keeping you and yours safe when you're practicing kitchen alchemy:

Always match food and pan size. Don't use a pan that's too big or small for what you're cooking. A big pan can boil dry too quickly. Food can slop over the sides of a small pan and cause grease spatters.

Use the minimum amount of heat and oil necessary to create the desired results. Sure, turning a burner too high will heat things up faster, but it also increases scorching and spattering risks.

Don't heat oil to its smoking point. Not only will it make food taste bad, smoking is what happens right before oils ignite. If oil gets to this point, immediately remove it from the heat source and let it cool down.

  • Always use cookware as intended by the manufacturer. If something isn't labeled as safe for stovetop use, don't put it on a burner. The same thing goes for any-thing you put in an oven or microwave. If in doubt, don't use it.

  • Don't use anything other than a deep fryer to deep-fry food. If your family loves French fries, do the right thing and invest in one of these devices. Using any-thing else is simply too risky.

  • If food has been washed or is damp, drain or pat dry before placing in cooking oil to avoid spattering.

  • Use a spatter guard when cooking. This is a screen-like device that you place right over pots and pans. They come in lots of different sizes. Having two is a good idea.

  • Never wear loose-fitting clothing when cooking. Long-sleeved garments, and especially sleeves with some fullness to them, can catch fire in a flash.

  • Don't use towels when handling pots and pans. They can easily ignite if brushed against a heating element. Use potholders or hot pads instead. Even better are fireproof gloves, which you can buy at a hardware store. They aren't pretty, but they're much safer.

  • Turn pot and pan handles inward when cooking. Depending on what the handles are made of, this could make them very hot if other burners are on, so be sure to keep hot pads on hand.

Finally, turn the burners off if you have to leave the kitchen for any reason.

Tune-up tips

Taking Your Kitchen Up a Notch (with Apologies to Emeril)

Around the House

Homeowner insurance policies typically cover things like structural damage to a kitchen, including paint and wallpaper replacement, repairing or replacing damaged appliances, and cleaning up smoke and soot damage.

All kitchens are fire hazards. But some present greater risks than others for a variety of reasons, ranging from their age to how well they're maintained to what else they'reused for besides cooking.

If you're in an older home, faulty and/or overloaded wiring can be a concern throughout your home. It's an even greater concern in kitchens, and especially near cooktops and ranges, as plug-in appliances typically congregate in these areas. All it takes is one spark from a frayed electrical wire to kindle an electrical fire. If that spark were to come from a wire near a stovetop…well, we probably don't need to tell you what happens next.

As far as appliances and cords go, keep them away from stovetops. If you have to use them near burners, keep their cords as short as possible. Take up the slack with a Velcro cord keeper, a twist-tie, or a rubber band. Don't let them dangle long and loose about your cooktop. Never overload outlets around your stovetop with these devices. Doing so can over-load a circuit, overheat an outlet, and…you get the idea, right? Other tune-up tips include…

  • Clearing the clutter from cooking areas. For some reason, people tend to load up stovetops with things that do and don't relate to cooking. That cute little plaque your nephew made in wood shop? It's wood, and it will burn. Those adorable potholders you got as a wedding present? They'll burn, too. Find another place to hang the plaque. Stow the potholders in a drawer near the cooktop.

  • Keeping cooking areas clean and free of grease residue. This includes stovetops, range hoods, backsplashes—basically anything that makes up the cooking area. Wipe up splatters as soon as they happen or as soon as it's safe to do so. Plain old vinegar and water works fine on new grease spots. For caked-on grease, scrub with trisodium phosphate (TSP) or very fine sandpaper. And don't forget your cabinets. Grease builds up on them, too.

  • Minimize paper pileup. If kitchens are doing double duty as home offices or crafting spots, paper and other flammables can be a real problem. Keep all paper products away from appliances. Keep newspaper and junk-mail piles to a minimum. Better yet, recycle them as soon as you're done with them.

Finally, keep kids and pets away from cooking areas. Establish a safe zone, and teach your kids about it as soon as they're able to understand.

Fire extinguishers

Fire-Fighting Equipment

In the Nick of Time

Be sure to inspect and maintain your fire extinguisher according to manufacturer instructions. If you use the extinguisher, have it serviced or replace it right away. And keep an eye on the gauge. If the needle is out of the normal range, the internal pressure is either too high or too low and the device may not operate properly. Have it inspected by a qualified professional. Ask your local fire department for advice on finding one. See if the department offers free extinguisher checks. Many do.

All kitchens should have a portable fire extinguisher near or in them. Period. The best choice is a multipurpose dry-chemical extinguisher. You can find one in just about any hardware or home store. Look for an extinguisher labeled ABC. This stands for the three types of fires they can put out:

  • Class A: Ordinary combustibles (paper, cloth, and wood)

  • Class B: Flammable liquids (oil, grease, gasoline, and kerosene)

  • Class C: Electrical equipment (appliances, wiring, fuse boxes, and circuit breakers)

Read the instructions that come along with the extinguisher so you'll know how to operate it. Hang it in a conspicuous location, preferably in or near the kitchen and close to a door or similar exit. This way, you can grab it, use it, and get the heck out.

A fire extinguisher is always your best bet for fighting a fire. Lids, cookie sheets, and baking soda are all good to have on hand, too, but none of them will put out a fire as well, and with less risk to you and your belongings, as an extinguisher can.

Finally, if you need to use your fire extinguisher, use it! Don't empty it half-way. You can't save any of the contents. So fire away. Make sure the fire is out.


Previous:

Next: