Cooking Safety

Over half of all kitchen fires start on the stovetop. Whether you’re cooking a stir fry for yourself or a turkey feast for your friends and family, it’s important to stay in the kitchen when cooking and remain focused on your task to prevent an unintentional fire. 

Prevent a fire while cooking 

• Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling or broiling food. If you must leave the kitchen, turn the stove off. 
• Check your food regularly, remain in the house and use a timer if you are simmering, baking, roasting or boiling food. 
• Turn off all appliances after use. 
• Turn pot handles in or use the back burners to prevent injuries. 
• Carefully heat cooking oil slowly over low heat. 
• Avoid wearing loose fitting clothes that can easily ignite when close to a burner. 
• Avoid cooking if you are under the influence of alcohol or medications. 

Keep your kitchen safe 

• Do not leave combustible items like towels, potholders, paper towels, or recipe books near the stovetop. 
• Use only CSA approved appliances.
• Keep appliances clean and avoid a build-up of spills and grease that could catch fire. 
• Check electrical cords on your stove, microwave and other electric appliances for signs of cracking or fraying. Discard any that are damaged. 
• Avoid plugging more than one heat producing appliance into an electrical outlet. 
• Avoid storing frequently used cooking items above the stove. 
• Keep your kitchen free of clutter. 

In the event of a kitchen fire 

Stovetop or grease fire 

• Use an oven mitt to slide a lid over the pot or pan to smother the fire. 
• Turn the stovetop off if it is safe to do so. 
• Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled. 
• If the fire does not go out, leave your home and call 9-1-1 immediately. 

Oven or microwave fire 

• Suffocate small fires by keeping the door closed and turning off the appliance. 
• Wait for the fire to extinguish itself. 
• If the fire does not go out, leave your home and call 9-1-1 immediately.