Red Embers

It goes without saying that most parents have the overall health and safety of their kids in mind during all of their time awake, and in many cases, during their sleeping time as well. So why would I worry that people would allow a fire to start in the kitchen? According to the United States Fire Administration, the leading cause of fires in the kitchen is unattended cooking. In my experience these fires aren’t caused by people you would typically call careless. For the most part I’ve found that, and sort of wish the fire reporting systems would allow a fire cause called, “distracted by….”

Who hasn’t been in the kitchen getting the spaghetti ready when the doorbell rang, or the phone rang, or one of the kids belts out that blood curdling scream that instinct causes you to run to? You sort of have to investigate when Sally yells, “Mom, the toilet’s overflowing on the floor!” Distractions are a part of parenting as much as petals are a part of a flower. If you have kids, you don’t get a minute’s peace to look at the newspaper, let alone cook a meal without having to referee an argument or tell that nice man next door that your son did not kick his poodle. So, what can a busy mom or dad do to prevent dinner from transforming your kitchen from warm hearth to charred rubble? I wish I had an easy answer. Even with our kids grown, it’s hard to keep attention on meal preparation long enough for the garlic bread to survive the quick trip under the broiler.

 I can (and will) give you the party line on cooking safety. In fact, here’s the USFA link to fire safety while cooking:

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/all_citizens/home_fire_prev/cooking.shtm

But we really want real solutions to real problems. So, here’s some things I’ve found that work. First, fireproof your kitchen every day. One of the biggest reasons cooking fires get out of control isn’t the cook-top itself, but it’s combustible neighbors. That handy hand towel or pot holder might be too close. The curtains, while they add a nice touch to the decor, could also spread fire to the ceiling. If your range is near a window, consider a fire resistant window covering or nothing at all. So too the spice rack, the toaster oven, trash can or plastic or wooden cooking utensil. Keep your range top clean so that clutter or carbon and grease build-up don’t cause a flash fire or allow a containable fire to spread.

The second piece of advice is, cook on the range top as little as possible, especially when you’re the lone adult. Save the extravagant cook-top recipes for when you have some adult help to keep you insulated from distractions. Giving the kids unsupervised activities might work most of the time, but it only takes one activity failure for distraction to become disaster. Good cooking practices for busy households include pot roasts, Crock Pot dishes, salads casseroles, and soups and stews. Frying pan recipes are for full attention only. Low pan cooking, in my opinion, creates the need for a second adult in the house so that the chef doesn’t have to monitor the patrons. Anytime high heat is called for, I think it prudent for a second adult to play maitre’d to the little bistro guests as they create havoc in the dining room.

Finally, a little bit of defense-offense is called for in the kitchen as well. Every coach knows that a good defense is more important than offense, so we’ll start with that. Enforce a three foot safety zone around the stove at all times. This is a “no kid zone” and if it’s enforced all the time, even when no cooking is happening, kids will naturally and habitually create their paths of movement to avoid the “zone.” Children can still help with meal preparation at table or counter-top, but until they’re old enough for the responsibility of cooking, enforce the “no kid zone.”

Never cook on the stove top without a lid that fits whatever you’re cooking in. The easiest way to put out a grease fire is to cover it and remove the heat, but if the lid is in the dark recesses of the junk cabinet, the fire will be rolling across the ceiling before you can put it into service. Never, ever put water on a grease fire.

Always have a fire extinguisher and a telephone close at hand. Whether it be a cell phone or good old fashioned Ma Bell, make sure there’s quick access at all times. This is your first move should your recipe go up in flames, even if you think you can control the fire. After you’ve told everyone to get out and wait in the meeting place, called 9-1-1, then you can try to fight the fire. Make sure your fire extinguisher is rated at at least 10 BC. Water based fire extinguishers are generally not useful in a kitchen fire. A good combination extinguisher, my preference for most kitchens is a 3A; 40BC model, is available in any home improvement store. Forget the cute little spray paint can sized extinguishers… They’re just not big enough to be effective. Fire extinguishing agents are your offense, but only to be used when your way out is assured should the fire get out of control. Learn how to use the extinguisher. On-the-job training is a poor fire fighting tactic. If there exists in your mind any doubt that you can bring the fire under control, just LEAVE.

If a fire starts in a closed oven - Leave it! Turn off the heat and do not open that door. If the roast is on fire, you’re not going to save it no matter what you do. Overdone is overdone, and on fire is quite obviously overdone. Ventilate the area and remove yourself and your kids from the house if it’s too bad or you worry that the fire will break out of the oven. Remember, though that the oven is meant to contain hot things, and the little star that the pot roast has become shouldn’t have enough combustible load to break out of the closed oven. Lack of oxygen and supplemental heat should cause the fire to die out fairly quickly.

Most families allow their children to use the microwave before they’re allowed to use the stove. If that’s your rule, that’s fine, but set the microwave up so that it’s out of the “zone” and at a safe height for use. Make sure they know what can and can’t go in there, and that impromptu microwave science projects are not permitted.

Preparing and eating meals together is one of the things my family loves to do, but when I think back on some of the close calls we’ve had in our home, it scares me. So my best advice is to keep it safe all the time and allow your kids in the kitchen to the extent their maturity and abilities allow. That way, even if dinner is a disaster, you can still all sit around the table after the Pizza Hut delivery and enjoy each other’s company.