“Stand By Your Pan”: Cook Safely This Thanksgiving to Prevent Kitchen Fires

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is alerting consumers that the threat of fires in the kitchen triples on Thanksgiving Day.  

“As fire safety experts have said for years, ‘Stand by your pan!’” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “If you are frying, grilling or broiling food, stay in the kitchen. Not following this advice can be a recipe for disaster on Thanksgiving and throughout the year.” When it comes to fires in the home, cooking fires are number one. They accounted for nearly 150,000 fires (more than 40 percent of all annual unintentional residential fires) each year from 2009 through 2011.  Unattended cooking is the top cause of cooking fires.  Cooking fires also caused the most home fire-related injuries.

To stay safe in the kitchen, avoid wearing loose-fitting clothing with long sleeves near ranges or ovens, watch children closely so they don’t come into contact with cooking food or hot stovetops, turn pan handles toward the back of the stove to prevent kids and others from spilling a pan’s scalding contents onto themselves.  

In the event of a fire, cover a pan with a lid to smother the flames. Never pour water or flour on a fire. That can make it worse. Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.

“Turkey fryer fires can be explosive and result in serious burns,” said Glenn Gaines, Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator for the United States Fire Administration (USFA). “Only use a turkey fryer outside and away from your home. Never use it in a garage or on a porch. Don’t overfill the oil or leave the turkey fryer unattended.”

Since 2003, there have been more than 125 turkey fryer-related fires, burns, explosions, smoke inhalations, or laceration incidents reported to CPSC staff.  For the incidents reporting a dollar value for the property loss, the total loss reported was around $6 million. 

Consumers should also protect themselves by installing smoke alarms in their homes.  “Roughly three out of five home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms,” said Jim Shannon, President of the National Fire Protection Association. “Smoke alarms save lives.  Having a working smoke alarm cuts the chances of dying in a fire in half.”

Change the batteries in smoke alarms at least once every year and test the alarms every month to make sure they are working.

To provide a better warning of a fire and more escape time, install more than one alarm and interconnect all smoke alarms in the home.  Interconnected alarms speak to one another, so if there is a fire in one part of the house, the interconnected alarms sound throughout the house and alert consumers to the fire more quickly.

For the best protection, install alarms on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas and inside each bedroom, and use both ionization and photoelectric alarms.  Alarms that are powered by house wiring should have a battery backup. 

Smoke alarms provide the warning, but every family should have a fire escape plan as well. Practice the escape plan with everyone in the house so they can get out quickly.  The escape plan should include two ways out of each room (as practical) and a family meeting place that is outside where everyone can meet if there is a fire in the home.

For more information on how to protect your home this holiday season call Hunter insurance at 769-9500.

This article is complements of The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for more information visit www.cpsc.gov.

PUFF BACK: What it is and How to Prevent it

A puff back is a misfire in an oil-fired furnace that can send soot throughout a home, covering drapes, bedding, furniture, cabinets, walls, and everything in between.  It often requires extensive cleaning and restoration in addition to repairs to the heating systems. 

A puff back can be a chronic problem, with each ignition sending forth a small amount of soot that slowly accumulates on surfaces, or it can be a single sudden event that sends a large amount of soot or smoke through the heating system and structure. 

This discharge of soot points to an underlying problem with the heating system which will need to be repaired.  To help prevent puff backs, the oil burner and furnace system should be services regularly.

The soot can look like cobwebs.  It is not just a powder-like substance but a black and sticky mix that goes everywhere.  This dirty residue needs to be clean as soon as possible.  Oil based soot is difficult to remove and often causes an odor that may permeate the home.  Here are some tips if a puff back occurs in your home:

• Call our office as soon as possible.
• Assess the situation and the amount of damage that was done.
• Wash all affected clothing and fabric in the house.
• Have ducts cleaned if the home has a forced hot-air heating system.
• Call a repairman to fix the malfunctioning oil furnace.
• Call a cleaning service to take care of the soot and odor. 

Call Hunter Insurance today at 769-9500 for more information on how to prevent puff back and to speak with an agent who will help you ensure your home is properly protected.