Have you had a kitchen fire? – our 9 top tips for fire prevention

Photo by Sebastian Voortman from Pexels - Two chess pieces
Photo by Sebastian Voortman from Pexels

Life is risky, there’s no way around it, and we all want to feel safe when we are at home with our loved ones. As soon as the front door is closed we can relax, secure within our own four walls, throw some food in the pan quickly and kick back with the TV on when the food is ready. We don’t want to think about the few minutes that separate our downtime after a long day’s work from an inferno engulfing our entire home and changing our lives forever. The reality is that we all live with a high level of risk within our homes. The kitchen contains a plethora of ignition sources from toasters, to ovens, hobs, microwaves, deep-fat fryers, toastie makers, and the list goes on. Not to mention the abundance of fuels, gas, electricity, all kinds of exotic cooking oils and fats, and the combustible items never far from the lick of a flame.

About 60% of all accidental fires in the home start in the kitchen. They kill or injure nearly 20 people every day in the UK, that’s 7300 people a year! So how can we prevent kitchen fires and spend more time doing what we love? Luckily, we have some tips for you right here. Check them out below…

9 top tips for fire prevention

Photo by moein moradi from Pexels - Photograph of a fire
Photo by moein moradi from Pexels

Here are our top kitchen fire prevention tips:

  1. Those tasty meals deserve your full attention, so dedicate some time to cooking! Play some music or make it a social activity by cooking with friends or family. It takes just a few seconds for a fire to start and if you’re not in the kitchen to keep an eye on things then the potential for a fire becomes a serious risk.
  2. It’s easy for your mind to wander when you’re tired, had a tipple or two, or you’re taking medication that might make you drowsy. Probably best to avoid cooking until you can enjoy it fully and safely.
  3. The laws of physics dictate that flat surfaces naturally attract items, so it’s easy to collect all sorts of weird and wonderful paraphernalia on the stove top when it’s not in use. It sounds obvious, but hobs are safest when they’re clear of any items. Even electric hobs can be switched on easily and will start to cook whatever is atop them. Tea towels are a favourite combustible so it’s best to put them away instead. They’re also not that tasty, so it’s a win-win situation.
  4. A clean oven, hob, grill, and cooker hood not only look great and are more hygienic, there are no fat or grease deposits that can build up and catch fire, so don the gloves, get the scrubber out and give your stove a treat!
  5. Other cooking appliances benefit from being clean too and they like a lot of headroom so avoiding using them under cupboards is also a good idea.
  6. Fit a smoke alarm and test it every week, it’s too easy not to do!
  7. Lucky number seven: Be careful when using microwaves. In particular, never put anything metal inside a microwave or attempt to use the microwave for drying clothes.
  8. We’ve all gone out and wondered if we’ve turned the hob or oven off properly, double check after every use just to be sure. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
  9. Last but not least, fit a cooker safety device like Airis, which prevents kitchen fires by automatically turning your cooker off if it gets too hot or is left on too long. It can also be programmed to turn off the power if the hob is left on by accident. It’s marvellous, really!
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels - A mother and daughter eating cake
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of one or two risky behaviours in the past, but hopefully we can avoid any mishaps with these simple tips. Let us know if you can think of any more that aren’t listed, we’d love to hear!

Please note that the fire safety advice in this post is for informative purposes only. Unicook cannot be held liable for your safety in the kitchen.

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