Preventing cooking fires in the kitchen may be far from your mind when you set out to create that delicious meal for your family. However, accidents don’t usually plan themselves around the home chef’s schedule, so it’s essential that you take measures to protect your kitchen, your family, and your home from unseen catastrophe.

Keep cooking surfaces clean. It’s easy to move from one project to another while preparing a meal. A little grease spatter on a stovetop, though, can have serious consequences. Attend to these splatters as quickly as possible. As well, tidy up crumbs or other food materials that could come into contact with a heating element.

Keep your oven clean. A little drip, or crumbled pie crust, may seem harmless. However, high temperatures, or proximity to a heating element, and you may find that you open the oven door to find things ablaze.

Separate your preparations from cooking surfaces. Setting the wrong material on a hot stovetop could be the catalyst for an unexpected fire. Plastic bags, plates, or cutting boards may seem harmless on a cool surface, but if you forget them, the potential is present for fire.

Be vigilant while cooking. Don’t leave a stovetop or oven unattended. Don’t forget to turn the device off. In the case of a hot area on the stove top, place a pan of cool water after shutting off, in order to protect unsuspecting youngsters and adults from burning themselves, or from placing flammable materials in a hot spot.
Kitchen activity is fun, and for many, therapeutic. However, kitchen safety is important. Protect your kitchen from the unexpected, and exercise fire safety at all times.