This year’s Fire Prevention Week (FPW) campaign theme is “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen!™”.
The goal is to educate everyone about the simple but important actions they can take to keep themselves, and those around them, safe in the kitchen.
An FPW toolkit is available that has everything you need to promote the campaign at your organization, from safety tips sheets to printable activities, logos, and more!
Did you know that cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries? Before you serve a meal, NFPA stresses that it’s essential to first serve up fire safety in the kitchen!
Kitchen safety tips include:
- Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, boiling, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove. (Unattended cooking is the leading contributing factor in cooking fires!)
- Keep anything that can catch fire such as oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, and towels away from your stovetop.
- Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay at least three feet away.
- Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer aren’t dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.
- Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children.
- Make sure your smoke alarms are working! Test them by pushing the test button.
If you do have a small cooking fire on the stovetop and decide to fight the fire, smother the flames by sliding a lid over the pan and turning off the burner.
Leave the pan covered until it’s completely cooled. For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.
If you have any doubts about fighting a fire, get out! Call 911 or the local emergency number from outside your home.
This blog was written by Beth Graham, our Associate Director of Quality, Research, and Training who has been with us for the last 11 years.
For additional information about how you can participate in Fire Prevention Week, visit NFPA’s FPW website, or email [email protected].