3 Ways Your Kitchen Can Burn Your House Down (and How to Avoid It)

3/8/2021 (Permalink)

Home fires in Wood County and surrounding areas can cost families $10,000 to well over $100,000, and in 90% of occurrences, they are easily avoidable.

After 3 years in the local area we have noticed that there are 3 common causes of home fires. Knowing them is important so that you can avoid having this heartbreaking event happen to you. And here is the first of the 3:

Your Cooking Equipment

Cooking fires are placed as the number one cause of home fires in the United States, according to the National Fire Protection Association. This is consistent with what we’ve seen in the local area.

Best Practices to Keep Your Home and Family Safe

Never walk away from the stove / kitchen top.

In a matter of minutes (sometimes even less) pots and pans can overheat, catching something nearby on fire, which can quickly escalate to a much larger fire.

DO NOT have any Flammable items within 3 feet of your stove, toaster or any other items that cook.

This is a matter of minimising risk. If something is to catch fire by accident, if something is close, it adds to the fire and allows it to spread (or jump) to the next item. So keep all flammable items including towels more than 3 feet away so that if a fire starts it cannot spread.

NEVER throw water onto burning oil or grease.

We cannot stress how dangerous this is. By throwing water onto your burning oil you’re creating a bomb. The water initially goes below the oil / grease, but heats up fast, turning to gas, which then tries to quickly escape above the oil / grease, causing the oil/grease to explode. This will likely burn your face and body, and also jump onto other flammable items. Do this instead: turn off the stove. Let it cool down on its own.

We hope this helped. If you have any further questions or would like some tips, please do not hesitate to call us on 304-428-7378 or email us on this page —> click here.

From the team at SERVPRO of Wood, Ritchie & Pleasants Counties

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