Fire Prevention and Safety Tips Blog Series: Fire Safety in the Kitchen

7 min readOct 30, 2020

Reminders and Safety Tips from the Redwood City and San Carlos Fire Department

Cooking is the leading cause of home fires and related injuries.
An average of 173,200 incidents are reported to US fire Departments annually.

Keep fire safety in mind by following a few simple safety tips. Enjoy time with your loved ones, and keep yourself and your family safe from fire.

Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stovetop so you can keep an eye on the food. The stove is a hot surface with hot foods and liquids. If you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the kitchen while the food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking. Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packing, towels or curtains away from your stovetop. Turn pot handles towards the back of the stove; this way, no one can bump them or pull them over and spill the contents.

Don’t wear loose clothing while cooking. Keep clothing from coming in contact with flames or heating elements. While cooking, use safety tools such as kitchen gloves and an apron to protect your skin and clothes.

When cooking with oil, if you see wisps of smoke or the oil smells, immediately turn off the burner and/or carefully remove the pan from the burner. Smoke is a danger sign that the oil is too hot. Heat the oil slowly to the temperature you need to fry or sauté. Add food gently into the pot or pan away from your body so the oil does not splatter. Always cook with a lid beside your pan.

If you have a small cooking fire and decide to fight the fire, smother the flames by sliding a lid over the pan and turn off the burner. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled. Do not remove the cover because the fire could start again.

NEVER throw water on the fire; this will only spread the flames.

For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed. Let the contents cool before you clean it. If you have a fire in your oven and the flames escape it, leave your home and call 9–1–1. Close the door behind you to help contain the fire.

After an oven fire, have the oven checked by a qualified professional before using it again. Clean your oven regularly to reduce buildup of oils, grease and baked-on foods.

Keep children away from hot food and liquids. Never hold a child while you are cooking, drinking hot liquid, or carrying hot foods or liquids.

Teach children that hot things can burn. Place hot liquids and food in the center of a table or toward the back of a counter. Turn pot and pan handles inward toward back of stove. Have a “kid-free zone” of at least 3 feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared and carried.

Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.

Keep knives out of the reach of children. Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child. Push small appliances to the back of the countertop and unplug them when not in use.

Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children — like high up in a locked cabinet.

Fires and burns are the #5 cause of injury-related death to children in the United States.

The steam or splash from hot foods and liquids could cause serious burns or injury. Open microwaved food slowly, away from the face. Allow microwaved food to cool before eating. Choose prepackaged soups whose containers have a wide base or, to avoid the possibility of a spill, pour the soup into a traditional bowl after heating.

Fire Extinguishers

Fire extinguishers can be a small but important part of your home fire safety plan. The kitchen is a likely room in your home for a fire to start.

Have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen and readily available for use. Store your fire extinguisher away from cooking devices, such as ovens and stovetops. Inspect your fire extinguisher once a month. Ensure the nozzle and hose are not damaged, dented or rusted. Check the pressure gauge; make sure it is not overcharged, undercharged or empty. Service your fire extinguisher annually by a licensed fire extinguisher professional.

Remember! P. A. S. S.

Pull

Aim

Squeeze

Sweep

What type of fire extinguisher should I have in my home?

A Class B is the most commonly used extinguisher in homes. The minimum recommendation is to have a single extinguisher rated 2-A:10-B:C.

Class B fire extinguishers are rated for fires involving flammable liquids such as kitchen grease, gasoline, oil, solvents and oil-based paint.

Keep this type of extinguisher in your garage, workshop or shed for fire’s involving combustible gas or liquids such as gasoline, ethanol or propane.

How many fire extinguishers should I have in my home?

Every home needs at least one fire extinguisher, and most should have at least two or three. The number of fire extinguishers that you should have in your home depends on the size of your home, if you have a garage or workshop, and if your home is multi-level.

The minimum recommendation is to have a single extinguisher rated 2-A:10-B:C or higher in your kitchen, garage or workshops, near doors used as an escape route and one on every level of your home.

Flames need fuel, oxygen and heat in order to burn. Fire extinguishers are designed to remove one of these elements by applying an agent that either cools the burning fuel, or removes or displaces the surrounding oxygen.

Fire extinguishers contain either water or a smothering material, such as CO2. By pulling out the safety pin and depressing the lever at the top of the cylinder, the fire extinguishing material is released under high amounts of pressure.

How does a fire extinguisher work?

At the top of the cylinder, there is a smaller cylindrical container filled with compressed gas. A release valve acts as a locking mechanism and prevents this gas from escaping.

When you pull the safety pin and squeeze the lever, the lever pushes on a rod that presses the valve down to open a passage to the nozzle. The compressed gas is released, applying a downward pressure on the fire-extinguishing material, and pushing it out the nozzle under tremendous force.

Although the temptation is to aim the extinguishing material at the flames, the proper way is to aim it directly at the fuel — the source of the fire.

The Five Classes of Fire

To be effective, portable fire extinguishers must match the fire you’re fighting. There are five classes of fires. Extinguishers are labeled with standard letters and symbols for the classes of fires they can put out.

Class A fires involve ordinary combustibles such as wood, cloth, and paper.
Class B fires involve flammable liquids, such as gasoline, oil, and some paints and solvents.
Class C fires involve energized electrical equipment, such as power tools, wiring, fuse boxes, computers, TVs, and electric motors.
Class D fires involve combustible metals, such as magnesium or sodium. Fighting Class D fires requires specialized training.
Class K fires involve cooking oils used in commercial cooking equipment.

Just by using the wrong class of fire extinguisher, you can make things worse. Massive flashes and huge flames might occur, and you may be burned or electrocuted. Given the scenario, it is possible for the electricity to run through the conductive water or foam, and kill you.