Fire prevention may be something that many people don’t think about on a daily basis; however, most people are not aware of the real dangers fire poses, and why there are different measures they should take in order to ensure their own and their family's safety.
Kitchen and fire facts
By being aware of the little things, you can avoid being part of the scary statistics. To give a better understanding of the topic, here are two significant facts everyone should be aware of.
• On average, 114,000 reported home fires are associated with cooking equipment each year in the United States alone.
• 30% of reported home fires start in the kitchen.
With these numbers in mind, do you think you could benefit from learning how to avoid the unimaginable?
13 fire safety tips
Fires often start in the kitchen and knowing the right fire safety tips will help to lower the risk of accidentally starting a fire. Below are 13 tips to help prevent kitchen fires and to make sure you and your family stay safe.
- Make sure to change the batteries in the smoke detector every year. Batteries will only last a certain amount of time, even if they are not being used. Smoke detector batteries are the last ones you would want to not work when they need to.
- Don't throw hot grease in the garbage can.
- Make sure candles aren't lit whenever leaving the room. Too many accidents happen because people are simply not sufficiently careful. The same goes for throwing out cigarettes that haven't been put out properly.
- Unplug electric appliances when they are not being used.
- Never use metal in the microwave.
- Pots and pans should not be overfilled with oil or grease.
- Don't cook on a dirty stove and make sure to wipe up if you accidentally spill something.
- Paper towels and other things that could catch fire need to be kept away from the stove. It makes sense intuitively, but a quick reminder does no damage and could be the difference between safe cooking and a disaster.
- Appliances should be serviced, clean and repaired when necessary. If your appliances are serviced as intended, they're also less likely to malfunction and accidentally start a fire.
- Stay in the kitchen when you're cooking. It makes sense. If something should spill over, or be close to catching a fire, it's better that you realise sooner rather than later.
- Watch the clothing you're wearing as it could catch fire.
- Keep a fire extinguisher in or near the kitchen, easily available should a fire break out. Be sure you know how to use it, so that if something happens, you'll know what to do.
- If you have children, make sure to supervise them if they are using the stove.
By following these tips and using good judgement, the chance of a kitchen fire occuring will be a lot less likely. To learn more about fire safety, make sure to view this infographic explaining fire safety for kids and this one focusing on fire safety for people with disabilities.