Thanksgiving Cooking Safety Tips from the NFPA
This week dinner tables and kitchens across the country will be bustling with activity. And while that’s a recipe for great meals, it also presents increased risk scenarios for residential home fires. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimated the number of home kitchen fire accidents was three times the daily mean for the nation, according to data for 2009. In addition, fires originating in the kitchen are the leading cause of home fires in general. During the four year period between 2005 and 2009, fire departments answered to approximately 155,400 infernos resulting from kitchen equipment; those accidents caused an estimated annual median of $771 million in property destruction, 4,800 injuries, and 390 deaths. With that, let’s review some important safety rules offered by the NFPA for cooking this Thanksgiving.
- Don’t allow anything flammable near the stove or oven, including wooden tools, mitts, paper or plastic packages, towels, drapery, and clothes.
- If you step away from meal preparation, turn off the heat on the oven and stove. Many devastating fires have occurred when a stove was left on and unattended for a short period of time.
- Always set a timer to stay on top of cooking times.
- If a small fire starts in a pan or in the oven, immediately switch off the heat and cover the fire with a lid to rob it of oxygen. If a fire starts in the oven, shut the oven door.
- If you cannot extinguish the fire within 30 seconds, exit the room and call 911 or the number for local emergency fire accidents.
If you’ve been injured in an Oklahoma fire that you think was caused by another party’s negligence, call the Oklahoma City personal injury attorneys with the Maples Law Firm at 1(405) 705-5050 for a free consultation.