Kitchen Fire Safety Tips

With so many hotspots in your kitchen, safety in this most lived part of the house is really important.

There are many hot areas and items where things can go wrong very quickly.

Your Appliances

Just think, ovens, gas hobs, induction cookers, deep fryers, bread makers, microwaves, toasters, toasted sandwich makers – the list goes on. Have a look around your kitchen and identify potential causes of fire or electrocution.

If you and your family and friends are working in and around the kitchen, everyone needs to understand those hot surfaces.

Slip and Trip Hazards

Things as simple as a slippery floor can cause you to lose balance and put your hand on a hot surface or drop a boiling jug or pot which could burn you or those around you. So make sure you get those slippery surfaces cleaned up.

Also, make sure pot handles are facing away (and in a safe location) from people so children can’t grab them.

Safely locating electrical leads is important too as these can cause trip hazards and pull implements off benches.

Don't Leave Your Cooking Unattended

If you are shallow frying or deep frying never leave your cooking unattended. It you have to step away from the kitchen, either take it off the element, turn it off or have someone step in and keep an eye on it.

If you step away just for a short period, that could be all it takes for that fat or oil to ignite and then you've got a big problem.

So always keep an eye on things, never go out and leave things on the stove - even on just a simmer or a boil. And if cooking stew, why not use a slow cooker or crock pot?

Getting held up attending to chores somewhere else in the house is often how those oil and fat fires start in the kitchen. So please – be careful and be sensible and stay safe.