Leading Cause of Stove Fires

Leading Cause

• The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory notes that in a study conducted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 75 percent of stove fires started because of burning food. The U.S. Fire Administration states that unattended cooking is the leading cause of all kitchen fires and not just those on the stove top. Food can catch fire because it has boiled over onto a hot element or lit burner, because cooking oil has spattered out into the burner or because the food has dried up and started smoldering in the pan.

Reasons

• While it is possible for a fire to grow out of control despite your best efforts to extinguish it as it starts, leaving food unattended as it cooks prevents you from catching a fire in its earliest stages, making it more difficult to stop. If toweling, curtains or furniture are nearby, you can end up with a large fire in a short period. While staying near the stove during the entire time food is cooking can be boring, especially if you are cooking something that needs to simmer for a couple of hours, that’s a small price to pay to stop a stove fire from forming if you see something is going wrong.

Extinguishing Fires

• If the fire is contained in a pan, the U.S. Fire Administration advises sliding a matching lid onto the pan to cut off the oxygen supply to the fire. Don’t try to move the pan, because that could cause something to spill and could spread the fire, and turn off the burner or element. You can also try covering the fire with baking soda, but make sure you are using baking soda and not baking powder. The University of Rochester website says using baking powder can cause the fire to grow. The university also notes that using a fire extinguisher on a grease fire could push the burning grease around instead of putting it out. Get out of the building and call the fire department if you don't believe you can handle the growing fire.

Prevention

• In addition to staying nearby and keeping an eye on cooking food, move anything that could possibly be flammable away from the stove and tie back curtains so wind doesn’t blow them into the burner flames or a hot element. Ensure your sleeves and other clothing, as well as your hair, are neatly tied back or gathered up. Clean the stove regularly and ensure food and grease don’t stick to the stove top or burners.