How to Avoid Stove Top Fire Damage

8/21/2016 (Permalink)

Food on a stove top should always be attended. Prevention is key. But if you have fire damage, call SERVPRO to remediate!

Attended Cooking and Keeping Safety Materials Nearby Can Help Prevent Fires From Originating in a Kitchen

Cooking tops and stoves have been used by civilizations with advanced metal or stone work for thousands of years, as it is a simple enough concept: a plate or surface is heated by open flame sufficient to cook and burn any food placed upon it. However, these essential appliances also carry a fair bit of risk and are one of the most common causes of fire damage in homes worldwide. Smoke alarms in kitchens are regularly placed directly above the stove so as to react quickly to any fires that start on it. Stoves can cause fire damage large and small, sometimes leading to total loss of the home, so avoiding dangerous practices around them is essential for your home's safety.
 
Always Mind Food
 
A common source of fire damage in Chattanooga is food left cooking unattended on stoves. Even if you are minding time and have a timer set up for its cooking, being out of the room while something is cooking is never a good idea and can lead to fires. Especially with oily or dry foods, food items left on stovetops can burst into flame very quickly, spreading to nearby wooden cabinets and walls. Safe cooking involves regular monitoring of food on the stove, and this is essential in kitchen fire prevention.
 
Watch Where You Put Things
 
Another common cause of fires is when a resident leaves a fabric cooking item, such as a potholder, laying on a hot stove. Any object left on a stove has a risk of starting a fire, and a hot stove top should never be used as a resting place for anything. Simply use the counter that is likely only a few feet away.
 
Keep Safety Materials Nearby
 
If worst comes to worst and a fire starts on a stove, make sure you have a smoke detector nearby and a fire extinguisher in the room. Damaging the stove with extinguisher materials should be the least of your concerns, so don't hold back. Above all, mitigating further damage from the fire is essential, and crucial to this is stopping any small fires in their tracks.
 
SERVPRO of East Chattanooga is equipped to respond to and deal with any house fire quickly so as to mitigate restoration costs for you. The moment the fire has died and your home is secure, call us at (423) 326-1406 24/7 for emergency mitigation and restoration services.