Cooking Safety Tips

Underwriters Laboratories recommends the following cooking safety tips:

• Make sure smoke alarms are installed and working. Never disconnect a smoke alarm while cooking.
• Never leave food unattended while cooking.
• Keep children and pets away from the cooking area.
• Wear short, close fitting or tightly rolled sleeves when cooking. Loose clothing can dangle onto burners and catch fire.
• Use thick, dry, flame-resistant potholders when handling lids and pans.
• When removing pot and pan lids, tilt them away from you to protect your face and hands from steam.
• Turn the handles of pots and pans in, but away from hot burners.
• Never use the oven for storage. It's not a closet.
• Never use the oven to heat a room. It's made for food.
• Keep the cooking area clean and clear of anything that can burn.
• In the event of a range-top fire, turn off the burner, put on an oven mitt and smother the flames by carefully sliding a lid onto the pan. Leave the lid in place until the pot or pan is cooled.
• Never use water or flour to extinguish a grease fire and never carry the pan outside - you could spread flames throughout the house.
• Keep a multi-purpose fire extinguisher handy in the event of a grease fire. Baking soda is effective for extinguishing small food fires, but not grease fires.
• In case of an oven fire, immediately turn off the heat and keep the oven door closed.
• Call for help. If you can't extinguish the fire yourself, leave your home, call 9-1-1, and wait in a safe place until emergency personnel arrive.