The kitchen is the heart of the home where meals are lovingly prepared. But, did you know that the kitchen is also the most likely place that home fires begin? Read on to learn how to protect your family from the dangers associated with kitchen fires.

How to Protect Your Home from Kitchen Fires

Most common causes of kitchen fires

The most common causes of kitchen fires are frying food and leaving cooking food unattended. Frying is a particularly dangerous way to cook because oil is highly flammable, and heating the oil too much or having splattering oil will quickly cause a kitchen fire. Be aware that walking away from any cooking food is dangerous even if you think you will be gone for a short amount of time.

Take preventative actions

Prevent fires by keeping flammable items like oven mitts, dish towels, and utensils away from the stove-top, and keep at least one small fire extinguisher in your home and make sure it is accessible in the kitchen.

Also make sure that your cooking tools are appropriate for what you are trying to prepare. This includes making sure your stove-top is in good working order as well as your pots and pans being the correct size. You may want to consider investing in an outdoor fryer if you do a lot of frying.

Stop a fire in progress

If you notice that your oil starts smoking, immediately turn your cooking temperature down. Smoking oil is a sign that it is too hot and will catch on fire soon. The only way to put out a grease fire is to smother it, so keep a lid near your cooking area.  If you can’t put it out, shut the door and get everyone out of the house.

Damage to your home

Depending on how large the fire was, you may see significant damage to your kitchen. Besides the obvious damage to stove top and melted appliances there may also be unseen damage to gas lines and electrical lines. It is always best to call the fire department to make sure that your home is safe before you re-enter after a fire.

Another big issue with kitchen fires is the fumes and soot caused by burning plastic and other items. You will need to wash down your walls, clean out drawers and cabinets, and be sure to change your air filter. Soot from the kitchen fire will travel to your entire home through your air ducts.

That’s the luckier side of things. Kitchen fires can easily become full-fledged house fires, and you could end up without a home. Unless put out extremely quickly, a fire will likely require the assistance of either an electrician, a disaster specialist or both to get the home back to safe and comfortable conditions.

Few, if any of us, contemplate what steps should be taken if the unfortunate circumstances arise of a fire. It could be our home, place of business, or a storage building. We purchase fire insurance in the hopes it will not be used. Perhaps you are reading this as a result of a fire, or it could be that you are interested in knowing what steps can be taken if this occurs to you. Let’s dive into some of the basics of fire damage and what can be done to rebuild to the way the structure was before the fire damage occurred. 

One of the biggest threats that occurs is, surprisingly, smoke and ash damage. Most people assume it is the flames themselves. Ash damage is not widely spoken of, but it is corrosive and emits powerful odors. In addition to these characteristics, ash discolors surfaces quickly. If the ash is left untreated for even a few days, it will permanently discolor walls, upholstery, and wood furnishings. Of equal concern is any metal in the home, as it will begin corroding within a few days as well.  

Anytime a significant fire occurs, the inevitable water damage as a result of the fire department extinguishing the blaze needs prompt attention. Equally important will be a proper inspection to see if there is any significant roof and structure damage. It will have to be inspected promptly to investigate whether the home or business is structurally sound. 

The good news is that nobody has to shoulder this burden alone. RCS will assist with all aspects of the cleanup and restoration of your fire damaged building; be it a home, place of business, or storage building. In fact, it is suggested that before you open an insurance claim that RCS is contacted as we work closely with the insurance companies to assist the customer with the urgency of the restoration. RCS works with, not for, insurance companies.