What to do if a Cooking Fire Flares up

: Written by Nacia Lipton National Property Director, Risk Control Nacia Lipton National Property Director, Risk Control; Published: 07 December 2020 07 December 2020; Hits: 1597 1597

Cooking is a common cause of home structure fires and home fireelated injuries. Whether preparing for a family dinner or making a quick snack, practicing safe cooking behaviors can help keep you and your family safe.

Never leave your range or cooktop unattended while cooking. If you have to leave the room, turn your range or cooktop off.
Wear short, close-fitting or tightly rolled sleeves. Loose clothing can hang down onto hot surfaces and can catch fire if it comes in contact with a gas flame or electric burner.
Keep your cooking area clean and free of combustible materials. Food wrappers, oven mitts or other materials left on or near the stove may catch fire.
Be sure to clean up any spilled or splattered grease. Built-up grease can catch fire in the oven or on the cooktop.
Keep a fire extinguisher readily available. Having an extinguisher nearby is important, but you also need to have the correct type of extinguisher and know how to properly use it.
Never throw hot grease in the garbage as it can ignite combustible materials. Be sure to let grease cool and consider disposing it in an old can, such as a metal coffee can.
Do not store food or other items in your oven. It can be easy to forget there is an item in your oven, and this could catch fire while preheating.

What to Do If a Cooking Fire Flares Up

By exercising caution in your kitchen, you can help reduce the risk of a kitchen fire. But if a fire does flare up, you need to be prepared.

COVID Cooking Safety Tips large

Your safety comes first. If you cannot safely extinguish the fire, leave the scene, call 911 for help, and let the fire department control the fire.
If a small fire flares up and you are going to try to extinguish it, call 911 for help first. A fire may grow out of control more quickly than you anticipate. It is safer to have help already on the way.
Smother a grease fire – never throw water on a grease fire. The water can be super-heated and change to steam, and can cause severe burns. Also, it can cause oil to splash up and spread the fire. If a grease fire starts in a pan, smother the flames by sliding the lid – while wearing an oven mitt – over the pan. If safe to do so, turn off the heat source. Do not move the pan; keep the lid on until the fire is out and the pan is completely cool.
If a fire starts in your oven, keep the door closed and turn off the heat source. Keeping the door closed will help smother the flames. Do not open the door until the flames are completely out.
If a fire starts in your microwave, turn off the microwave and do not open it until the fire is completely out. Unplug the microwave only if you can safely do so.

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6 Steps for Storm Preparedness on Cape Cod

	1. Know your Risk. Wind Storms, Hurricanes, Blizzards and Flooding are our most immediate concerns on Cape Cod. It's always best to have your own Emergency Preparedness Plan. You can protect your local emergency management organization to determine if there are already community-wide preparedness materials you can have, including evacuation routes, shelters and communication systems.
	2. Assemble or Update your Emergency Kit. Stock up on basic supplies you might need if you had to evacuate your home quickly. Items may include food, water, first aid supplies, medication, batteries, blankets and pet supplies. Put these items in a lightweight, waterproof container an dplace it somehere that can be easily accessed in an emegrency.
	3. Create a Communication Plan. Your family might not be together when disaster strikes. Have a discussion with your kids about emergency preparedness, including where you can meet and how everyone can get in contact if the unexpected happens.
	4. Practice your Plan. Mock scenarios with your family and even your entire community can help everyone understand how to prepare for, react to and recover from a disaster with confidence. That way, if an emergency were to strike, each member would know exactly which tasks they are responsible for to keep themselves and others safe.
	5. Prepare your Home. You can reduce the risk of injury to yourself and damage to your home by preparing your property for disaster. For example. in the case of a hurricane, it is recommended to board all windows and doors with hurricane shutters, and turn refrigerators and freezers to the coldest setting in order to preserve food, whereas a blizzard and freezing temps require salting the driveway and letting cold water drip from the faucet to prevent frozen pipes.
	6. Document and Insure your property. Under certain circumstances, damage to your home may not be covered under a basic homeowner's insurance policy. Talk to Bryden and Sullivan insurance agents to determine if you need any additional coverage for the risks your area is particularly susceptible to, such as tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes and more.

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