Fires and burns caused by careless cooking account for thousands of serious and painful injuries every year. Many of these injuries could be prevented or lessened if people were more cautious and if they knew how to safely put out cooking fires.
Most cooking fires involve grease. Whether it's cooking oil lard or melted fat from meats, grease is a flammable liquid which ignites easily and burns rapidly. If grease ignites in a pan on your stove, smother the fire by sliding the lid or a large pan on the fire. If the fire begins in your stove, turn off the heat and leave the door close to smother the flames. You can also use baking soda (not baking powder) or a portable fire extinguisher to put out the fire. If the fire is too large to slide a lid on or to use a fire extinguisher, leave the house immediately and call the fire department from a neighbor’s house.
With grease fires, it’s just as important to know how not to extinguish as it is to know how to. The wrong action can spread the fire and caused serious burns. Never use water or flour on a grease fire. Water will make the fire bigger and can splatter the burning grease. Flour can explode. Never carry the burning pan because you may spill the grease on you or someone else. Deal with the fire where it starts. Do not turn on the exhaust fan above the stove.
Unfortunately, the typical response to a grease fire is to carry the burning pan outside or pour water on it. Both actions are dead wrong.
Some cooking fires are caused by leaving combustible items, like paper towels, dish towels, paper bags, etc. near the stove, or other hot cooking appliances. Others start because of a grease build-up in stoves, broilers, vents, etc.. Keep these areas clear and clean of grease and combustibles.
Frequent Burns are caused by microwave cooking. Most microwave recipes call for the use of plastic wraps. When containers are removed from the microwave, they may not feel hot, but boiling hot steam has accumulated under the plastic wrap. Always open the wrap away from you and protect your hands while doing so. Burns also occurred because microwave food cooks from the inside-out and the center may be hot enough to cause serious burns in the mouth. Be especially careful when serving children food from the microwave oven.
One way to prevent cooking fires is to never leave the cooking area unattended. It takes only seconds for grease to ignite. A “watched pot” may never boil, but it is less likely to catch fire.
(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)
