One of the terrifying and most panicking experiences people might encounter is dealing with a home cooking or kitchen fire. Most people cook daily, but it only takes seconds to set something on fire. The National Fire Protection Association says almost 50 percent of reported home fires are due to cooking. Holidays are the peak season for kitchen fires, so it’s essential to know its common causes to ensure your food party with your family and friends does not go up in smoke.
Now, let’s discuss what triggers kitchen fires so you can prevent them in the first place.
What causes kitchen fires?
Home-cooked meals have many advantages, but it comes with a dangerous risk: cooking fires. Home cooking fires can be prevented, but you must understand their causes to know how to effectively prevent them. So let’s talk about the five notorious culprits of kitchen fires to help you be cautious in the kitchen and guarantee your household’s safety.
1. Items too close to the heat source
For people with tight counter areas or small kitchens, it’s easy to inattentively or unawarely put or leave things too close to the heat source. Unfortunately, flammable objects like drapes, wood utensils, food boxes, towels, and potholders can quickly catch fire, so always remember to put these far from the heat source when cooking.
2. High cooking temperatures
Some individuals believe turning their stoves up can make cooking quicker. However, setting ridiculously high temperatures when cooking with your kitchen appliances is extremely dangerous. Setting too high temperatures can easily ignite your food. Always set the cooking temperature to what the recipe requires, and avoid improvising or setting the temperature higher, even if you’re in a rush.
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3. Unattended cooking
Many cases of kitchen fires are the result of inattentiveness and distractions. Taking your attention off of cooking by talking to a family member or looking at your phone can be catastrophic. Most cooking requires grease, heat, and oil, making it possible for a fire to break out when you’re not paying attention.
Kitchen fires can cause significant fire damage when not quenched immediately. This is also why individuals hire restoration contractors following a kitchen fire to restore their property to its healthy state. You may visit this link for detailed information on their professional services.
4. Greasy and messy kitchens
Grease flammable liquids that are not regularly and properly cleaned from kitchen and appliance surfaces build up over time. This buildup can ignite the next time somebody uses the kitchen to cook. Luckily, fire blankets are designed to quench fires fueled by fats, grease, and cooking oils. Grease fires are a common type of kitchen fire, so by making sure your kitchen is cleaned daily, you are minimizing your odds of igniting it.
Furthermore, you’re preventing mold development by keeping a tidy kitchen, as molds love to grow in grease and moisture. Individuals employ water removal experts when molds have already infested certain portions of their homes when they should have done something in the first place to prevent it.
5. Hot cooking oil
When broiling or frying anything in oil, always pay close attention to it. 50 percent of reported kitchen fires happen due to ignited butter, grease, cooking oil, fat, and other cooking substances. Oil can spread flames rapidly and might still ignite the next time somebody cooks if there’s a residue left on the stovetops.
