Nationally, around half of all fires in the home start in the kitchen. You can prevent fires in the kitchen occurring by paying that extra bit of attention and following the advice below:
NEVER
- Never leave your cooking unattended. If you do have to leave the kitchen when a meal is bubbling away on the hob, turn off the heat until you go back into the kitchen.
- Never throw water onto an oil fire. This is hazardous.
- Never attempt to extinguish a pan fire. Get to safety and call 999.
- Never put anything metal in the microwave.
ALWAYS
- Always double check you have turned off the cooker and hob when you have finished cooking.
- Always keep loose clothing and tea towels away from flames. They can quickly catch fire and cause a nasty injury or even worse.
- Always clean your oven and grill. A buildup of fat and grease in the oven, hob, cooker hood or grill can ignite and cause a fire so be careful to keep these areas clean and grease free.
- Always register your white goods appliances to enable the receipt of updates about appliance faults and safety recalls.
AVOID
- Avoid cooking when you are tired or have been drinking alcohol because you won’t be alert to potential dangers.
- Avoid having saucepan handles sticking out over the edge of the hob as they can easily get knocked off.
- Avoid leaving children in the kitchen alone when cooking on the
hob. Keep matches and saucepan handles out of their reach to
keep them safe.
DEEP FAT FRYING
The tips we have already looked at can help to reduce the chances of fire or injury.
If you deep fry food, there are a few extra things to remember:
- Do not overfill pans or fryers with oil – keep it to 1/3 full.
- Pat food dry before dropping it in the oil to reduce splashing.
- If your oil begins to smoke, turn down the heat and wait for it to cool.
- Use a thermostat-controlled deep-fat fryer, which will make sure the fat doesn’t get too hot.
- Cooking using deep oil can be more hazardous than other methods of cooking. Take extra care with loose-fitting clothing which can catch fire.
If your clothing does catch on fire, remember to Stop, Drop, and Roll. This will help extinguish the fire quickly, reducing burns.
If a fire occurs in your kitchen, get out, stay out, call out the fire service by dialling 999. Do not tackle the fire yourself and don’t ever attempt to move burning pans.
Kitchen Electrical appliances and safety
- Keep electrical leads away from water.
- Do not leave items on the top of electric, halogen or induction hobs even if it turned off.
- Check the toaster is clean and well away from curtains and other flammable items. Pull it forward from wall cupboards before using.
- Do not overload sockets. Appliances with motors or heating elements such as kettles, toasters, washing machines, dishwasher. Check your sockets using this calculator
- Don’t leave appliances such as washing machines or dishwashers on at night.
- Register your white goods so you can be informed of safety repairs or recalls. Visit our Electrical Fire Safety page for more information.
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