Cooking fires are the number one cause of fire damage restoration across the United States every year, meaning your St. George kitchen is a prime target for a fire. Since we use the kitchen pretty much all day, every day, it is important to be cautious and be active in fire prevention whenever you are cooking or baking. Not sure where to start? From our experts at Ally 1 Disaster Solutions here are just a few things we suggest to help reduce the chances of you needing fire damage restoration in your home from a kitchen fire.
Fire Damage Restoration In St. George
- First things first, be sure to have working smoke alarms or fire detectors in your kitchen. These devices are oftentimes the first thing to alert you when a fire starts, and are critical in helping you get out of the home quickly and safely. Be sure to change the batteries out every 6 to 12 months to be sure they are ready and working properly.
- You should also keep a fire extinguisher in your home, stored somewhere near the kitchen. For small, contained fires, fire extinguishers can make all the difference and get the problem resolved before it turns into a massive ordeal. If you do need to use your fire extinguisher, the following acronym is helpful to make sure you use it correctly: PASS
- P – pull the pin
- A – aim the nozzle at the base of the fire
- S – squeeze the trigger
- S – sweep the stream from side to side
*With all that being said, do not ever attempt to put out a large fire, or spend too much time trying to extinguish even a small fire that is not responding to your efforts. If the fire extinguisher is not giving you results right away, it is best to spend your valuable time making sure you and everyone else is safely out of the home.
- Never leave an appliance that is turned on or cooking food unattended. More often than not, kitchen fires are the result of carelessness. Any time a heat source is on and, it should be monitored. Be aware of what is cooking, where it is cooking, and how long it has been cooking. Being present and aware of what is going on in your kitchen can help reduce the risk of a fire from ever occurring.
- Become educated on grease fires, and be sure to have a lid or baking soda on hand whenever you are cooking with grease. Grease fires are scary because they do not respond to water- in fact, water is the last thing you want to add to a grease fire. Instead, cutting off the oxygen supply to a grease fire is the safest way to eliminate it. This can be done by placing a lid over the fire, or smothering it in baking soda. If neither of these methods are working, call 911 and evacuate the home as quickly as you can.
While these are just a few suggestions of ways you can reduce the risk of a cooking fire from damaging your St. George home, you can find many more online. Just remember, if you don’t want to deal with fire damage restoration in your home, be more prepared, attentive and cautious in your kitchen.
