While no one wants their food party to go up in smoke, kitchen fire accidents don’t discriminate. You don’t need a commercial-sized range to feel the heat and be a victim of cooking fires. You might have the most expensive or cheapest stove or cooktop, but this will not reduce or increase your odds of experiencing kitchen fires. At the end of the day, your habits will still dictate your chances.

So let’s discuss how to prevent kitchen fire accidents to protect you from this dangerous disaster.

How to Prevent Kitchen Fires

Cooking is a notorious cause of home fires and fire-related injuries. Whether you’re preparing breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a quick snack for your family, practicing safe cooking behaviors and preventive measures can keep you from harm. Below are five valuable tips for preventing kitchen fires to keep your family safe.

1. Stay in the kitchen when cooking

This may look obvious, but the National Fire Protection Association says unattended cooking is among the major culprits of kitchen fires. If you need to leave a stove unattended to do something urgently, turn off your range or cooktop and move the cooking pan to a cool burner or surface. Simple forgetfulness and neglect can set your kitchen on fire, so never ever leave your kitchen unattended when you’re cooking.

Otherwise, you’ll need to employ restoration companies like PuroClean of Terre Haute to address the damage caused by cooking fires.

2. Install smoke alarms

Technically, smoke alarms don’t really prevent fires, but they are still an essential preventive measure that can save you and your family later. It’s a vital device for fire safety and a reliable first line of defense. If your home doesn’t have one, don’t postpone installing one. Regularly check your smoke alarm to ensure it works properly, and remember to change its batteries twice a year when you do the same for your wall clock.

Having a smoke alarm at home can save you money from hiring fire damage restoration companies as it makes you proactive in extinguishing a fire before it becomes big enough to consume your home.

3. Keep your appliances clean

Check for food buildup or grease on your counters and kitchen appliances like deep fryers, toaster ovens, electric grills, and toasters. These appliances may develop a dangerous buildup of flammable substances after many uses, so check these surfaces occasionally. Use a mixture of baking soda and dish soap or oil-based cleaner to scrub the food debris and grease.

4. Unplug appliances that are not in use

Mixers, air fryers, oven toasters, coffee makers, and the like continue to draw electricity when plugged in, even when not turned on. If their wiring is faulty, old, or starting to tear apart, a fire might break out, so always unplug appliances when not in use.

5. Keep your kids and pets at a distance

If you have kids, keep them at least three meters away from the stove for their safety. Pets should also be kept away from cooking surfaces, so they don’t catch fire or push items to the burners. Wooden utensils, curtains, towels, food boxes, and potholders should also be moved away from the stove to avoid fire accidents.