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Cooking

 

NFPA Safety Tips

Cooking safety tips
Be on the alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don't use the stove or stovetop. Read all of NFPA's cooking safety tips and download our free safety tip sheet.

Lorraine CarliAUDIO
Lorraine Carli, NFPA Vice President of Communications, talks about cooking safety:
Simple ways to prevent cooking fires 
Clothes and cooking fires 
When do most cooking fires occur? 
Why you should avoid fighting a cooking fire 
The leading cause of cooking fires 
Kitchen safety

In 2010, cooking was involved in an estimated 156,400 home structure fires that were reported to U.S. fire departments. These fires caused 420 deaths, 5,310 injuries and $993 million in direct property damage. Cooking caused 44% of reported home fires, 16% of home fire deaths, 40% of home fire injuries, and 15% of the direct property damage in 2010.
Source: NFPA's latest estimates of Home Cooking Fires - 2010 (PDF, 131 KB) 

Video: Just a few simple safety tips can protect you and your family from a potentially devastating home fire.

Facts & figures 

Based on 2006-2010 annual averages:

  • Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in these fires. 
  • Two-thirds (67%) of home cooking fires started with the ignition of food or other cooking materials.
  • Clothing was the item first ignited in less than 1% of these fires, but these incidents accounted for 16% of the cooking fire deaths.
  • Ranges accounted for the largest share (58%) of home cooking fire incidents. Ovens accounted for 16%.
  • Three of every five (57%) reported non-fatal home cooking fire injuries occurred when the victims tried to fight the fire themselves.
  • Frying poses the greatest risk of fire.
  • Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires.

Source: NFPA's "Home Fires Involving Cooking Equipment" report by Marty Ahrens, November 2012

*Homes include one- and two-family homes, apartments (regardless of ownership), and manufactured housing.

NFPA does not test, label or approve any products.
Updated: 5/12


In this Section:
 
Cooking safety tips
What you need to know about staying fire-safe in the kitchen.
Cooking oil
An oil fire can surge up and out of the pan almost instantly.
Videos and presentations
USFA, NFPA produced these videos and presentation tools .
Turkey fryers
NFPA discourages the use of outdoor gas-fueled turkey fryers.
Grills
Learn how to use your gas-fueled or charcoal grill safely.
Handouts in other languages
Download easy-to-read handouts on cooking safety in 14 different languages.
Microwave ovens
One of the leading home products associated with scald burn injuries.


URL: http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=282&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fact%20sheets/Safety%20in%20the%20home/Cooking%20safety&cookie%5Ftest=1&cookie%5Ftest=1