Kitchen Fire Safety: Prevent a Grease Fire, and Put One Out

And the holidays are the peak.

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) calls cooking the leading cause of home fires and fire injuries: an estimated 170,000 home cooking fires in 2021, causing 135 deaths, 3,000 injuries, and more than $494 million in losses. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates that from 2020 to 2024, kitchen and cooking equipment was involved in 48% of home structure fires, 35% of home fire injuries, and 16% of home fire deaths a year. Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.

Unattended cooking is the main factor.

“Stand by your pan,” USFA says; if you leave the kitchen, turn the burner off. Unattended equipment was the leading factor in nonconfined home cooking fires (37%) in USFA’s data, and NFPA finds it a factor in a quarter of reported home cooking fires and half the deaths. NFPA’s rules: stay in the kitchen while frying, grilling, boiling, or broiling; when simmering, baking, or roasting, check the food regularly, remain in the kitchen while it cooks, and use a timer as a reminder. Do not use the stove if you are sleepy or have been drinking.

Smoke means too hot.

Heat oil slowly to the temperature you need, and add food gently so it does not splatter. If you see wisps of smoke or the oil smells, turn off the burner or carefully move the pan off it: NFPA calls smoke a danger sign that the oil is too hot, and USFA says the same of grease that starts to boil. Fires start when the heat is too high. Always keep a lid beside the pan when frying.

Lid on, burner off, never water.

1. Smother it: slide a lid or a baking sheet over the pan.
2. Turn off the burner.
3. Leave it covered until the pan is completely cool; lifting the lid can let it reignite.

Never throw water on a grease fire. For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed. If the fire does not go out, or you are not comfortable approaching it, NFPA says to get everyone out, close the door behind you to help contain it, and call 911 from outside. If you do try to fight it, make sure others are getting out and you have a clear way out.

Clear space, handles back.

• Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels, curtains — away from the stovetop.
• Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove so no one can bump them or pull a pot over.
• Avoid loose clothing at the stove: NFPA finds clothing is the first item ignited in under 1% of home cooking fires but accounts for 4% of the deaths.
• Keep smoke alarms working; see smoke alarm chirping for upkeep.

Ranges and cooktops account for just over half of home cooking fire incidents, NFPA says.

Plan the oven time so no one has to rush.

Big holiday meals stack burners, ovens, and distractions. Plan the turkey’s timing in advance with USDA’s roasting chart and start thawing early with the thawing times, so nothing is left unattended at the last minute. Give one person the job of watching the stovetop while others cook.