The kitchen can be the heart of the home, especially during the holidays. From testing family recipes to decorating cakes and cookies, everyone enjoys being part of the preparations. Holiday cooking can be hectic, when there is a lot of activity and people at home. Be aware of fire safety to ensure you and your loved ones have a joyous holiday!
Did you know Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, with more than three times the daily average for such incidents? Christmas Day and Christmas Eve ranked second and third, with both having nearly twice the daily average. Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths.
Top safety tips:
- Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stove top so you can keep an eye on the food.
- If you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking
- Keep anything that can catch fire – oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels, or curtains – away from the stovetop.
- Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay three feet away.
- Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.
- Keep knives out of the reach of children.
- Be sure electric cords are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.
- Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children — up high in a locked cabinet.
- Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.
Thanksgiving fire facts
- Cooking causes half (53%) of all reported home fires and nearly two of every five (38%) home fire injuries, and it is a leading cause of home fire deaths (18%).
- On Thanksgiving day alone, an estimated 1,160 home cooking fires were reported to U.S fire departments in 2021, reflecting a 297 percent increase over the daily average.