More than half of accidental fires at home are started by cooking – often when cookers and grills are left unattended.

Owning the best frying pans, slicers from getmandolineslicers.com or even a top of the line oven is without a doubt great for your kitchen, but nothing matters if you do not have the right fire safety measures installed.

On this page you can find out how to keep safe while you are cooking and what to do if a fire starts in your kitchen.

How to cook safely

Avoid leaving children in the kitchen alone when cooking on the hob.  Keep matches and saucepan handles out of their reach to keep them safe.

• Make sure saucepan handles don’t stick out – so they don’t get knocked off the stove.
• Take care if you’re wearing loose clothing – they can easily catch fire.
• Keep tea towels and cloths away from the cooker and hob.
• Double check the cooker is off when you’ve finished cooking.
• Take care if you need to leave the kitchen whilst cooking, take pans off the heat or turn them down to avoid risk.

Take care with electrics

• Keep electrics (leads and appliances) away from water.
• Check toasters are clean and placed away from curtains and kitchen rolls.
• Keep the oven, hob and grill clean and in good working order.  A build up of fat and grease can ignite a fire.

Deep fat frying

Take care when cooking with hot oil – it sets alight easily.

• Make sure food is dry before putting it in hot oil so it doesn’t splash.
• If the oil starts to smoke – it’s too hot.  Turn off the heat and leave it to cool.
• Use a thermostat controlled electric deep fat fryer.  They can’t overheat.

What to do if a pan catches fire

• Don’t take any risks.  Turn off the heat if it is safe to do so.  Never throw water over it.
• Don’t tackle the fire yourself – Get Out, Stay Out, Call 999.