Kitchen Fire Prevention Tips

6/29/2020 (Permalink)

Cooking is a great pastime, but it can also lead to potential fire damage!

Cooking-based fires are the leading cause of home fires in the United States, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). But as COVID-19 continues to keep some restaurants and businesses closed, many people find themselves spending more time in the kitchen. While we want you to continue cooking at home, there are some things you should do to prevent a fire from breaking out.

1. Don’t leave the kitchen unattended while cooking. If you’re using appliances or doing heating, it’s highly recommended that you stay in the kitchen while they are in use. Fires can occur and quickly get out of hand within seconds, so it’s important you’re there to supervise and react.

2. Clear flammable materials from the stovetop. When you’re cooking, it can be easy to forget where you put plastic packaging, towels, and oven mitts, but if you’re using the oven at all, they need to be cleared before it’s in use. Otherwise, these materials can catch fire and become a major hazard.

3. Always act on product recalls. It’s a good idea to register your appliances so you can get important recall notices (and often to extend your warranty). If there is a recall, you should immediately act on the notice because these faulty appliances could lead to a fire or other incident!

Kitchen-based fires are one of the most common types of home fires, even here in Iredell County. Our team has helped thousands of homes recover from fire and smoke damage, so if you need professional cleanup services, call SERVPRO of Iredell County at (704) 872-7466!