The kitchen is one of the primary places where fires in the home start. That’s because the kitchen has all of the ingredients it takes to make a fire: flammable materials interacting with high heat. There are a few things you can do to lower your risk of kitchen fires, and you can find those below. But even if you do your best to prevent them, house fires can still happen. If you’re dealing with the aftermath of a fire, go ahead and give us a call. Our crew can help you navigate insurance and put your home back together faster than you might think.
Before Cooking
Make sure to clean up any grease or oil buildup on your stove or counters (both are flammable), make sure your smoke alarm is working properly, and set aside enough time to cook so that you’re able to be in the kitchen the whole time. One of the biggest causes of kitchen fires is inattentiveness. So the best rule of thumb is to be in or next to the kitchen whenever you’re using the stove or oven.
That way, you can handle any fire risks right away and lower the damage done to your home.
While Cooking
Keep in mind that for a good majority of the time, you can prevent and put out house fires.
Walking away from food that’s cooking on a stove, wearing loose and flowing clothes, or leaving long hair untied is a recipe for disaster. Especially if you’re cooking with grease or oil, make sure that items close by the stove are fire-safe. Keep towels away from the stove and make sure that loose clothing or hair is out of “spitting distance” of oil and grease.
Be sure to have a lid close by so that if something in your pot or pan catches fire, you can clamp on the lid on right away. Fire needs oxygen to keep going, so when you clamp on the lid you deprive the fire of oxygen and sometimes that puts it out right away.
If Something Catches Fire
What do you do if the flames start building? If it’s a grease fire, don’t use water to put out that fire! Water and grease don’t mix so instead of putting out the fire, the water will cause the grease to spread, therefore making the fire spread.
Grease likes to bubble and spit, and as long as it’s hot, it will keep bubbling and spitting and potentially spreading the fire everywhere. The best thing to do is to turn off the stove top or oven, and either smother the fire with a metal lid or throw some baking soda or salt on the fire. Another safe alternative is to use a fire extinguisher.
The most important thing to remember with fires is that putting out a grease fire requires a different approach than other fires. Do not swat it with a towel, do not remove your pot or pan, and again, don’t use water.
What to do Right Away
If your kitchen catches fire, as long as it’s not a grease fire, the first thing to do is to try to contain it. Grab your fire extinguisher or a bucket of water and douse the fire. You can even throw a pot or pan in the sink and run water over it to put the fire out. It’s best to call the fire department even if you’re able to put the fire out yourself so they can be there if something else happens.
Then, call Intek. We have fire restoration services that can put your home back together in no time.
Afterward
Keep in mind that smoke and soot damage can affect your health, so if it was a bigger fire, don’t re-enter your home unless the fire marshal clears your home for re-entry. Trust Intek’s fire restoration services to help you put the pieces back together even after a bigger fire. We can clear out your home’s air ducts, clean and restore your walls, and deep clean other household items.
