A kitchen fire is the most common type of home fire in the U.S. Indeed, cooking leads to nearly half of the nation’s 350,000 home fires each year. However, there are preventative steps to take to avoid suffering from a kitchen fire. There are also solutions for restoring your home if you do experience a fire in your kitchen. Read on for the best practices for preventing, and steps to take to restore your home after a kitchen fire.
Ways to Prevent a Fire in Your Kitchen
Since cooking is the leading cause of fires in the kitchen, it is essential that you and your family members take fire prevention seriously when cooking. To that end, you should:
- Avoid cooking if you’re intoxicated
- Avoid cooking if you’re sleepy and distracted
- Change your smoke alarm batteries every six months or when the alarm begins beeping
- Keep a lid (or cookie sheet) nearby to smother a small grease fire
- Keep small children out of the kitchen while you’re cooking
- Keep your stove and oven clean and free of food debris
- Make use of your kitchen timers
- Place a fire extinguisher nearby
- Remove all items from the stovetop that may catch fire (dishtowels, oven mitts, etc.)
- Stay in the kitchen while cooking
- Test your smoke alarms monthly
- Turn all handles of pots and pans inward, so you don’t bump them
- Turn off burners and oven immediately after you’ve finished using them
- Wear short sleeves, or fitted sleeves that do not pose a fire hazard
What to Do When a Fire Breaks Out in Your Kitchen
Your top priority in the event of a fire of any size is your safety and the safety of those in your home. While a small grease fire may be smoldered with a lid, and an oven fire may be slowed by turning off the oven and closing the door, you should always have a fire emergency plan in place that everyone in your home understands. If a fire breaks out in your kitchen or elsewhere in your home, follow these steps:
- Shout “Fire!” loud enough for all occupants to hear
- Cover your face and nose with your shirt, a towel, or a damp cloth
- Where possible, help children, elders, and anyone else who needs assistance
- Escape as quickly as possible
- Stop, drop, and roll if your clothing has caught fire
- Call 911
If you are trapped in a room that is filling with smoke, close the door and place a damp towel or clothing at the bottom of the door while waiting for fire rescue teams.
Restoring Your Home After a Kitchen Fire
Fortunately, most fires caused by cooking are contained in the kitchen. All the same, to remove lingering toxins from the air, along with odors from a fire, you’ll need to hire a professional fire restoration company. A full-service fire restoration and repair company will completely clean up the damage from the fire while removing potential health hazards, and smoke odors.
Fire Clean Up and Restoration Services in Oregon
If you’ve experienced a kitchen fire or other home fire, call ProKleen today. For three decades, ProKleen has provided emergency water and fire, restorations for homes and businesses in Oregon. We also provide mold testing and remediation, biohazardous and sewage clean up, and more. Call 541-857-1818, or send us a message.