With seven thousand people injured in kitchen fires each year, the kitchen is by far the most dangerous place in a house. Half of all fires attended by firefighters involve cooking appliances. Repeatedly, it is the same problems that cause these fires. There are, however, some simple steps that a user can follow to keep safe while cooking.
How to Avoid Kitchen Fires
- Do not leave cooking unattended
- Do not cook if one is tired, or taken anything that might make one drowsy.
- Do not lean over hot hobs and keep tea towels and clothes away from the hob.
- Do regularly clean one's oven, hob and cooker hood. Grease and dirt buildup can easily ignite and cause a fire.
- Do use spark devices to start gas fires rather than matches or lighters.
- Do make sure that the cooker and hob are turned off when one has finished cooking.
- Do not put metal items in the microwave.
- Do not leave children and pets unsupervised in the kitchen.
- Do fit a smoke alarm with a “hush button” that can be easily silenced if it goes off accidentally.
If a Pan Does Catch Fire
- Do not attempt to move the pan.
- Never use a general fire extinguisher on a pan filled with oil or fat. The only fire extinguishers safe for deep fat fryers are wet chemical
- Do not throw water on a fire as it could create a fireball.
- Turn off the heat, if it is safe to do so.
- Leave the room, close the door, shout a warning to others and call 999.
Deep Fat Frying
- Do not fill a pan more than a third full of oil or fat.
- Do ensure that food is dry before frying.
- Do turn off the heat if the oil starts smoking.
- Do use an electronic deep fat fryer if possible as these have built-in safety features.
Fire Protection for The Home
It is sensible to also invest in safety equipment for your kitchen for example:
- A domestic fire blanket kept easily to hand in the kitchen.
- A wet chemical fire extinguisher
- Fit an automatic fire suppression system such as Fryertrace. The installation of an automatic extinguishing agent within the cooker hood can stop a fire before it gets out of control.
small self-contained pneumatic system
Firetrace provide a specific fire suppression solution that can be easily fitted in any sized kitchen. Fryertrace is a small self-contained pneumatic system that requires no external source and is installed directly inside an extractor hood or in an adjacent cupboard.
The system has been designed to detect fire swiftly and extinguish it immediately, therefore, avoiding damage and clean-up costs. Fryertrace systems have been successfully installed in a number of student halls of residence across the UK. More information on how Fryertrace can help protect a user’s home can be found on the company’s official website.
