Coronavirus: Practice Cooking Safety While Staying at Home

During the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, millions of us are under stay-at-home orders and practicing social distancing. And for many of us, this means more time in the kitchen cooking meals.

Cooking is the leading cause of home fires. Moreover, unattended cooking is the leading cause of cooking fires, and a Red Cross survey shows that roughly 70 percent of people have left the kitchen while cooking.

The good news is that kitchen fires can be prevented by following these simple safety tips:

• Keep an eye on what you fry! Stay in the kitchen and never leave cooking food unattended. If you must leave the kitchen, even for a short period of time, turn off the stove.
  
• Clean the stove and the area around it before turning on the heat.
• Keep children and pets at least 3 feet away from the stove. Move items that can burn, such as dishtowels, bags and boxes, away from the stove, and avoid wearing loose clothing while cooking.
• Turn pot handles to the back of the stove to avoid spills.
• Use a timer to remind yourself that the stove or oven is on. Always check the kitchen before going to bed or leaving the home to make sure all stoves, ovens and small appliances are turned off.
• When frying food, turn the burner off if you see smoke or if the grease starts to boil. Fires can start when the heat is too high. Carefully remove the pan from the burner.
• Consider purchasing a fire extinguisher to keep in your kitchen. Contact your local fire department to take training on the proper use of extinguishers.

IF A COOKING FIRE OCCURS If a pan catches fire, don’t move it. Slide a pan lid or cookie sheet on top of the pan to put out the fire. Turn off the heat. Keep the lid on the pan until it is completely cooled. Never try to stop a grease or oil fire with water — it will fuel the fire.

If something catches fire in the oven, keep the door closed. Call 911 so firefighters can make sure the fire didn’t spread to the walls. If a fire occurs in the microwave, keep the door closed and unplug the microwave if you can. Don’t use it again until a repairman checks it.

If the kitchen catches fire, make sure everyone gets out and meets at your household’s designated meeting spot. Once outside, call 911 and stay out. Never go back inside a burning building.

GRILLING SAFETY Now that spring has arrived, many people cook family meals on the backyard grill. Because grilling fires spark more than 10,000 home fires on average every year, follow these safety tips:

• Always supervise a barbecue grill when in use. Don’t add charcoal starter fluid when coals have already been ignited.
  
• Never grill indoors — not in your house, camper, tent or any enclosed area.
• Keep the grill out in the open, away from the house, deck, tree branches or anything that could catch fire.
• Use long-handled tools especially made for cooking on the grill.

TEST SMOKE ALARMS AND PRACTICE YOUR TWO-MINUTE DRILL Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by half and having a home fire escape plan further increases the odds of survival. In fact, fire experts say that you have as little as two minutes to escape a burning home before it’s too late.

• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home and test them monthly. Place them inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas.
  
• Create and practice your home fire escape plan until everyone in your household can get out in two minutes or less. Include at least two ways to escape every room. Select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as your neighbor’s home or landmark like a specific tree in your front yard, where everyone knows to meet.

Learn more about home fire safety and preparedness.

FIND COVID-19 SAFETY UPDATES Visit redcross.org/coronavirus for more information on COVID-19 safety. For the latest information, please visit the CDC website at cdc.gov/covid19.  If you live outside the United States, health and safety tips can be found through the World Health Organization and by following your local Red Cross or Red Crescent society’s social media channels (directory).