The Seattle Fire Department reminds residents to be safe while cooking and gathering this holiday season. Thanksgiving is the leading day for home cooking-related fires. Other holiday-related home fires involve heating and electrical sources.
Before starting your holiday cooking, be sure to test your smoke alarms by pushing the “test” button.
Cooking Safety Tips
• Keep an adult by the stove while cooking your favorite dishes!
• Involve children in preparing foods that are not hot, and at least 3 feet from a hot stove.
• Check on food regularly while cooking – unattended cooking is the number one cause of home fires
• Keep children at least 3 feet away for the stove.
• Keep matches and lighters out of reach of children or up high in a locked cabinet.
• Leave turkey frying to the professionals, as large quantities of hot cooking oil pose a significant fire and serious burn risk.
• If a fire starts on the stove top, cover it with a lid or metal cookie sheet and turn the stove off. Do not throw water on a grease fire.
• Keep flammables such as towels, oven mitts and food packaging away from the stove top.
Electrical Safety Tips
• Unplug kitchen appliances that have a heating element such as coffee pots, rice cookers and toasters, when not in use.
• Ensure all cords from cooking equipment are safety tucked away, out of reach of a child.
• Only insert ONE appliance per electrical outlet.
Heating and Candle Safety Tips
• Give your heaters space! Keep flammable items 1 foot from baseboard heaters and 3 feet from portable space heaters.
• Use flameless battery operated candles. If you do use candles with a flame, be sure to extinguish them before leaving the room and before going to bed.
Watch our cooking safety tips video!