Thanksgiving and the holidays are right around the corner and according to FEMA, there is an increased incidence of cooking fires on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. We want to wish you a happy and safe holiday season, so here are a few tips to prevent cooking fires in your home:
1. Be Vigilant
Supervise any simmering, frying, grilling, broiling, baking and check on it regularly. Don’t leave while this is going on and make use of timers to remind you to remove the food before it burns! Keeping a close eye on your food can help you prevent cooking fires.
2. Keep cloths, potholders, and oven mitts away
Anything that can catch fire like your dish towels, potholders, oven mitts, aprons, etc., must stay away from your stovetop! They can catch from contact with the flame or if something sparks. This also means your sleeves! Roll ’em up!
3. Keep your stovetop clean
Any crusted-on food or debris can easily catch fire. Be sure you’ve cleaned it all off your stovetop before you start cooking.
4. Don’t overload outlets
With the pressures to prepare as many as ten dishes at once for your holiday feast, it can be easy to overload your outlets. Crock pots, microwaves, toaster ovens, electric carvers, mixers, and food processors don’t power themselves, right? We get it. But don’t overload — it causes the wiring to overheat and ignite.
Also be aware of other things around your house this winter season that can present fire safety threats: fireplaces, candles, and electric heaters. Be sure your smoke detectors are functional and always supervise the use of fireplaces, candles, and space heaters.
Here are some more tips to prevent cooking fires and dealing with one should it happen.
Contact us at Allen Electrical for any of your wiring and/or emergency needs.
