How to Practice Fire Safety in the Kitchen

How to Practice Fire Safety in the Kitchen

If you’re like most American adults, you spend a decent amount of time nearly every day in your kitchen. It’s nice to be able to make home-cooked meals for yourself and your family. But kitchens are also the place where a large percentage of house fires break out.

If you want to avoid being one of the thousands each year that are forced to deal with a kitchen fire, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Here are a few of them:

Stay in the Kitchen

This is a simple rule yet it’s one that many people do not follow: stay in the kitchen when you’re cooking. If you’re frying, boiling, grilling, or using your stove or oven in any way, stay in the kitchen while doing so. If you have to leave the kitchen for any length of time, turn off your stove or oven. If you use any tabletop appliance such as air fryers, toasters, pressure cookers etc., be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Keep Combustible Materials Away

Many kitchen fires start as the result of the stovetop. It’s important to keep material such as food packaging, towels, napkins, and oven mitts away from the stovetop when it is in use. It’s also important to clean every so often to stop preventable fires caused by crumbs, grease, and excess dust.

Be Properly Equipped

Sometimes a fire will sneak up on you despite your best efforts. In that case, you should be equipped with a fire extinguisher that you know how to properly use. Of course, you should also have a working smoke detector in the kitchen. You should also be properly equipped with the knowledge of what to do to certain fires. Slide a pan over the flames to smother a grease or oil fire. Keep the oven door closed and turn off the heat to stop an oven or broiler fire. Other fires should be extinguished with baking soda – never water.

And, as a last line of defense, consider purchasing Fire Tech’s residential sprinkler systems. Our experienced professionals will install the system that works best for your building. Contact us today for a free estimate.

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