Our department was recently called on mutual aid to a kitchen fire. Fortunately it was under control on arrival. It could have been disastrous. The occupant had a grease fire in a pan and threw water on it. It boiled over ferociously and spread the flames out of control. The young girl didn’t realize that putting water into oil that is over 400°F will cause a steam explosion. Luckily  there wasn’t a large amount of oil in the pan and it had burned out.  According to NFPA© cooking equipment is the leading cause of home fires and fire injuries, causing 49% of home fires that resulted in 21% of the home fire deaths and 45% of the injuries. Those are alarming figures! By just following some basic safety guidelines, most can be avoided:

• Stay in kitchen while you cook to keep an eye on your stovetop
• If oil starts to smell burnt or smoke, turn the heat down
• Keep the lid to pot or pan nearby to cover the pan in case it flares up
• Keep towels, clothes, curtains or anything that can burn away from stove
• Keep children 3′ away from stove and turn handles inward so they cannot grab them
• Never attempt to take the pan outside; it can spill and cause more burns or a larger fire

For more info visit NFPA.org Cooking Fire Safety. They have safety tips to download and share as well as coloring pages for kids. Thanks for being fire safe!