Fire hazards around the stove are chronically underestimated
Have I turned off the stove, unplugged the iron, or blown out the candle?
Questions that everyone has probably asked themselves when closing the front door. Excessive caution? No, quite the opposite. The room with the highest fire risk in the house is the kitchen: 39% of all fires originate here. About half of all kitchen fires start from the stove.
- The room with the highest fire risk in the house is the kitchen: 39 percent of all fires originate here.
- The stove is not a storage area: Placing objects on the stove and getting distracted can have fatal consequences.
- ASK THE FOX provides tips on proper behavior.
You can download our brochure "Recognizing and Reducing Kitchen Hazards" here.
The stove - the place with the highest fire risk in the house.
What can you do to minimize the risk? Here's a brief checklist.
- Never forget: Turn off the stove and oven immediately after use.
- Never place or lay flammable objects (cloths, potholders, food, cookbooks, etc.) on stove burners. Be mindful of residual heat.
- Old grease ignites quickly. Therefore, clean deep fryers regularly. Change fats and oils at shorter intervals.
- The built-in filters in cooker hoods become saturated over time with kitchen vapors and easily flammable grease. Therefore, you should clean or replace the filters regularly. A fire on the stove can quickly spread to the cooker hood and throughout the entire kitchen.
- When heating cooking oil and frying fat, there is an acute fire hazard above a temperature of 280°C. Never extinguish burning fat with water because fat and water do not mix. The water vaporizes instantly, carrying small droplets of fat with it. These ignite, resulting in a massive flame with a high risk of injury.
- Instead, immediately turn off the heat source and smother the fire with a suitable lid.
- Fire blankets are not suitable for firefighting in situations where the safety of the person involved is at risk or there is a risk of the fire spreading.
- Special "fat fire extinguishers" available on the market can be used to combat grease fires.
