Kitchen can be a highly risky place as almost 50% of domestic fires start from there. These are mostly due to unattended cooking. Australian Federal Government and Fire Departments have been constantly pleading people to be very mindful while cooking as kitchen fires can be very devastating. There are simple things that you need to bear in mind while cooking. These will help you keep fire emergencies at bay.
Things to Remember while cooking-
- Never leave cooking unattended, especially if you are using grease or oil for cooking. Grease fires come about when collection of oil or grease on oven, fryer or stove heats up enough to get ignited. In most of the cases of grease fire cooking was left unattended. Grease fire can spread to other flammable areas, thus causing severe damage. NEVER use water on a grease fire, since water and oil do not mix, infact it causes the oil to splash around.
- The best way to counter grease fire is to cover it with pan lid. Avoid using glass lids as they can break from extreme heat. You can use baking soda to smother this fire; however, it takes plenty of soda to put out this kind of fire. As a practice, you can keep soda around before started cooking. Always remember accidents are always uninvited and being prepared prevents disasters. Dry powder fire extinguisher can be used to put out grease fires. Class B fire protection equipment can be used to smother grease fire. Class K fire protection equipment is mostly used in restaurants and other commercial places. Also note that dry powder fire extinguisher contaminates your food. Always make sure that fire protection equipment is visible and accessible at all times.
- Never leave appliances switched on after cooking is done.
- Flammable items such as oven mitts, tea towels should be kept away from cook tops.
- Always make sure that there is one smoke alarm on every floor of the house. They should be in working condition. Inspect them on a monthly basis and replace the batteries once a year or whenever required.
- Regular maintenance of fire protection equipment is also necessary. To know about inspection and maintenance of fire equipment click- Inspection and maintenance of fire equipment
These are small things that help you prevent disasters. NEVER try to fight fire that you know you can’t handle. Call up the fire department to deal with the fire that is difficult for you to control.
How to Put Out Kitchen Fires