Holiday Cooking Safety – Fire Line

Fall is here and holiday prep is in full swing! If you are planning for Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, or another celebration, please keep our safety information and tips in mind. We want you to enjoy your holidays and be safe while cooking with family and children.

While cooking is the number one cause of home fires annually, Thanksgiving remains the leading day for home cooking-related fires in the United States. Unattended cooking is by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths. Other holiday-related home fires involve heating and electrical sources (please see electrical outlet and heating blog posts).

Holiday cooking and baking can be a fun for adults and children if done safely. Take caution with these easy steps and keep the whole family safe:

• Check on food regularly while cooking.
• Keep children and pets at least three feet away from the stove.
• Always use a timer
• Remove flammables such as towels, oils and food packaging away from the stove top.

Stovetop Fires

• If a fire starts on the stove top, cover it with a lid or metal cookie sheet and turn the stove off.
• Never throw water on a oil/grease fire. See this in action
• If you experience a fire beyond the pan that has spread, get outside of the home or apartment and call 9-1-1 immediately. Do not go back into your home until fire personnel tells you to do so.

Electrical Safety Tips

• Unplug kitchen appliances that have a heating element such as coffee pots, rice cookers and toasters, when not in use.
• Ensure all cords from appliances are safety tucked away, out of reach of a child.
• Don’t overload outlets and only insert ONE cooking appliance per electrical outlet.

https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Public-Education/Resources/Safety-tip-sheets/CookingSafety.ashx