According to data from 2020, most kitchen fires occur on Thanksgiving Day. That’s not how you want to kick off the holiday season, so safety in your kitchen is paramount, especially during the holidays. On Thanksgiving, people are cooking more things at once than they usually attempt, and it’s not hard for things to get out of hand. You can protect your home against fire damage with NH home insurance from the Morin Insurance Agency, but better protection is to prevent kitchen fires in the first place.
Here are some tips to help you prevent kitchen fires so you can have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.
Pay attention to what’s cooking.
While you’re preparing Thanksgiving dinner, you’re cooking a lot of things at once, so it’s easy to lose track of time. Use timers to remind you how long various dishes have been on the stove or in the oven. To help you keep track, name your timers on your smartphone so you know what’s ready when a timer goes off. If you’re actively frying or cooking something on the stove, stand by your pan. You never know when something might start to burn. If you see smoke or grease starts to boil, turn the burner off right away.
Limit distractions in the kitchen.
It’s not just the various dishes that can distract you from something that might be about to burn. A house full of guests has no end of possible distractions. If you have kids or pets in the house, keep them in another room while you’re cooking. To ensure no little ones can accidentally knock something off the stove, turn all your pot and pan handles toward the back where they are out of reach. If you have guests who want to hang out in the kitchen and chat, put them to work! More hands and eyes will be able to spot and prevent dangerous situations.
Know how to put out small fires.
All large fires start as small fires, so it’s important to know how to put out a small fire if one starts in your kitchen. For example, if there is a fire in your oven, keep the door closed. The fastest way to extinguish a fire on the stove is to starve it of oxygen by covering it. Brush up on basic fire safety tips (for example, never put water on a grease fire). There are plenty of great resources out there, including from your local fire department.
NH Home Insurance | Morin Insurance Agency
Our team at Moring Insurance is here to help you protect your home and family. While you hope something like a kitchen fire doesn’t happen, it’s reassuring to know that you have a good NH home insurance policy if it does.
