(Newswire.net — December 14, 2017) — A lot of great things happen in the kitchen, but a lot of bad things can happen there too. Per the National Fire Protection Association, forty-six percent of home structure fires reported were caused by cooking. That’s a big number.
That’s not to say you should be terrified of cooking. Don’t psyche yourself out and convince yourself that every meal is a four-alarm fire waiting to happen, because it’s not. A little awareness and a safe kitchen can prevent the worst-case scenario from occurring.
Stay in the kitchen while cooking
A potentially bad situation can become really bad really fast when you’re out of the room. Any parent who has ever left a toddler alone with a package of colored markers knows that. With cooking, you you’re removing any children and adding fire. Yes, it can take a long time to boil water, but it’s best to stay in the kitchen while the stove is on. According to the NFPA, unattended cooking is the biggest factor in home fires and fire deaths. You don’t have to stand at the stove and stare intently at the saucepan for the entirety of the cooking process; that’s going a smidge overboard. It’s one thing if your phone goes off and you have to run to the next room to grab it; you can probably do that in about thirty seconds, tops. But that’s the maximum amount of time you should be gone. The closer you are to the stove or oven, the quicker you can respond to any issues. And quickness really matters in cases like this.
If you’re cooking while hosting a busy party, you may have to use a bit more ingenuity. Consider purchasing a Dacor gas rangetop equipped with integrated Wi-fi for remote monitoring. It also has Bluetooth-enabled auto-connectivity to the hood, so you can maintain some level of control even if you’re surrounded by houseguests.
What if you have to use the bathroom? At the risk of sounding like a parent on a long road trip, you should have done that before you started. But really, since you need to wash your hands thoroughly before you start cooking, you might as well take a quick trip to the bathroom before you turn the stove dial to “on.”
Don’t do a rush job on the hand-washing, either. The Centers for Disease Control recommends scrubbing your hands for a good twenty seconds. Preparing food with unclean hands can lead to all sorts of nasty gastrointestinal ailments.
If a fire breaks out
If, despite your best efforts, a fire starts anyway, you should be able to respond without panicking. You can curse if you want, but don’t freak out and make things worse. For instance, don’t open the oven door if you spot a fire inside. Fires really love oxygen, and you don’t want to give the fire more of it. Turn off the oven instead, and there’s a good chance the fire will go out on its own.
If there’s a fire on the stove, the same oxygen principles apply. You should keep a lid within easy reach of your stove so you can use it to cover the pan and smother the flames. If that doesn’t quite do it, grab baking soda and throw it on the fire. You may need quite a bit of it, so make sure your pantry is stocked up. And don’t even think about throwing water on a grease fire.
If baking soda doesn’t work, then it’s time to break out the fire extinguisher. You should know exactly where it is and how to use it. While you’re grabbing it, tell someone else in the house to call 911, since you’re rapidly approaching the point where you’re going to need outside assistance in combating this fire. It’s always better to have professional help than to risk injury or death by trying to be a hero. If a fire is spreading, grab any family members and pets and get the heck out of there.