Prevent Kitchen Fires

9/10/2018 (Permalink)

Let’s be honest, not all of us are a “Top Chef” when it comes to cooking in the kitchen. With food delivery services on the rise, we’re able to have a prepared meal delivered right to our door without ever having to leave the comforts of our home. And let’s not forget all the amazing dining options Scottsdale has to offer when we feel like venturing out in the hot Arizona sun. But every now and then, we’ve got to put our cooking skills to use, right? And no, unfortunately boiling water does not count.

Cooking is the main cause of fire injuries and home fires. What can start as a small grease fire can spread and ultimately turn into a large-scale fire that could overcome your home and lead to serious injuries. Here are several tips that we recommend to prevent kitchen fires in your Scottsdale home.

1. Install a smoke detector near your kitchen. It doesn’t have to be in the actual kitchen as you don’t want smoke from toast burning in your toaster to trigger it. You want it to be close enough to the kitchen so that it can detect an actual kitchen fire.

2. If you’re wearing long sleeves, roll them up! If you have long hair, tie it back.

3. Do not place dish towels, pot holders or paper towel close to your stove.

4. When using the stove, never leave it unattended. Yes, even when you’re boiling water. It’s very easy to become distracted that you can easily forget it’s in use.

5. Always turn the pan handles toward the back of the stove that way you don’t accidentally knock a hot pan off. This is especially important when you have small children around as you don’t want any fire injuries to occur.

6. Watch the heat. If the pan is too hot, the grease will start to boil, then it will start to smoke, and a fire could potentially start from there. The key here is prevention. Watch the heat closely. When the grease starts to boil and/or smoke, turn the heat down and remove from the burner. If a fire does start, NEVER use water to extinguish. Instead, cover with a lid and remove from heat.

It’s important to note all the precautions and safety measures when it comes to cooking to keep you and your family safe. If a fire does start and the flames start to spread, do not try and put it out. Instead, have you and your family evacuated immediately and call 911. In the event of fire damage, you can count on SERVPRO of Scottsdale to provide fire damage restoration services. Contact us for more info at 480-998-7989. We are always here to help.