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PREVENT COOKING FIRES: Watch what you heat!

October 8 to 14 is fire prevention week. This year's theme is the prevention of cooking fires. More
fires start in the kitchen than in any other part of the home. Why is the kitchen such a danger
zone? Too often people fail to pay attention to what's cooking, and the consequences can be far
worse than burned food. Like any home fire, cooking fires spread quickly, leaving you just
minutes to escape safely. Follow these tips for safer cooking:

Stand by your pan!

Most fires in the kitchen occur because cooking is left unattended. Stay in the kitchen when
you are frying, grilling, or broiling food.

If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.

If you are simmering, boiling, baking or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the home
while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that the stove or oven is on.

No kids allowed!

Keep kids away from cooking areas by enforcing a "kid-free zone" of 3 feet (1 meter) around
the stove.

When young children are in the home, use the stove's back burners whenever possible, and
turn pot handles back to reduce the risk that pots with hot contents will be knocked over.

Never hold a small child while cooking.

Keep it clean!

Keep anything that can catch fire—pot holders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic
bags, food packaging, towels or curtains—away from your stove top.

Clean up food and grease from burners and the stove top.

Avoid wearing loose clothing or dangling sleeves while cooking. Loose clothing can catch
fire if it comes in contact with a gas flame or electric burner.

Microwave with care!

Plug the microwave oven directly into an outlet. Never use an extension cord for a microwave
as it can overload the circuit and cause a fire.

Use only microwave-safe containers to heat food.

Allow food to cool for a minute or more before you remove it from the microwave.

Open microwaved containers slowly as hot steam escaping from the containers can cause
painful burns. Be sure to let food and liquid cool before you eating them.

Never use aluminum foil or metal objects in a microwave oven. They can cause a fire or
burn hazard and damage the oven.

Kitchen fires 101!

While the following tips can help you put out a small kitchen fire, never forget how dangerous fire
can be. If you are unable to put out the fire, get out of the home and call the fire department. When
in doubt, get out!

If you have a fire in your microwave, turn it off immediately and keep the door closed. Never
open the door until the fire is completely out. Unplug the appliance if you can safely reach
the outlet.

Always keep an oven mitt and a lid nearby when you're cooking. If a small grease fire starts
in a pan, smother the flames by carefully sliding the lid over the pan (make sure you are
wearing the oven mitt). Turn off the burner. To keep the fire from restarting, don't remove the
lid until the pan is completely cool.

In case of an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed to prevent flames from
burning you or your clothing.

Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen in case of an emergency. Make sure that you know
what type of fire the extinguisher will put out and how it works before an emergency occurs.