HOW TO PREVENT AND MANAGE COOKING FIRES

Accidental fires are very common in the United States, especially in the kitchen. Grease fires are a major source of concern given how difficult they are to put out and how quickly they can spread. Fortunately, these types of fires and others can be prevented.

Carelessness and neglect are often the cause of cooking fires. In this article we will show you a few ways to prevent and manage cooking fires in the future.

1. Keep your kitchen clean: A thorough cleaning after each use is the easiest way to prevent a kitchen fire. If grease and other flammable material are allowed to build up over time, you could be in real trouble. Food that spills down into the oven is another source of danger that significantly boosts the odds of a kitchen fire.
2. Keep flammable objects away from heat: Cooking sprays, cleaning materials and other flammable objects should be kept far away from open flames. It may seem like a no-brainer to keep your cooking sprays near the stove, but excess heat can cause them to combust.
3. Keep children away when cooking: In order to ensure a safe cooking experience it is important to keep children away. Young children often don’t see the dangers that abound in a kitchen and are more likely to get burned than an adult. Accidents can occur when unattended children play in the kitchen.

But no matter how careful you are, accidents will happen. So what do you do when a kitchen fire breaks out? As most of know, fire needs three things to burn – heat, oxygen and fuel. The fire will continue to grow until one of these elements is removed.

With a grease fire in the kitchen, the easiest of those three elements to remove is usually oxygen. By smothering the fire you can extinguish it quickly. It’s important to remember that water will not help a grease fire. In fact, the repelling principles in water and grease can cause the fire to spread more rapidly.

If all else fails, call 9-1-1 immediately and evacuate as quickly as possible.

For more information on how to prevent kitchen fires or for a consultation on putting your home back together after a fire breaks out, contact  A&A Property Restoration at (952) 847- 0500 or visit our website at www.aa4help.com.