Did you know over half of accidental home fires start in the kitchen, making it the most dangerous room in your home?

The majority of these incidents are cooking related follow our safety advice to help keep you and your family safe.

Cooking safety

  • Stand by your pan – take off the heat, turn off the hob/grill if you have to leave the kitchen
  • Don’t drink and fry – especially after drinking alcohol, fires start when you get distracted
  • Chuck out your chip pan – every year they cause 20% of all accidental home fires in the UK. Use a thermostat-controlled deep fat fryer or an air fryer instead
  • Keep it clean – remove burnt food and fat from your cooker, hob, grill pan, toaster and microwave
  • Ensure pan handles don’t stick out and aren’t over heat so they don’t get knocked off or overheat
  • Never leave children alone in the kitchen and fit a child safety catch to the oven door
  • Don’t wear loose clothing when cooking – it can easily catch fire
  • Use a spark device – to light gas cookers as this is safer than using matches or lighters
  • Keep fabric away – don’t put tea towels, cloths and curtains near your cooker, hob or toaster
  • Don’t let electrical trail – over the oven, hob or other appliances, keep them tidy
  • Turn off – oven, hob and grill or other appliance when you have finished cooking
  • Don’t put metal in the microwave or use it to sterilise dish cloths or sponges by heating them

Electrical kitchen appliances

If a fire starts in your kitchen:

  • Don’t try to move pans or other equipment that is on fire it will be very hot.
  • Turn off the heat if it’s safe to do so – but don’t lean over the fire to reach controls
  • Don’t use water or a fire extinguisher on a pan of oil because it can spread the fire
  • Don’t take any risks – Get Out, Stay Out and Call 999.