Safe Holiday Cooking

12/20/2018 (Permalink)

Follow these tips for safe cooking of your holiday feasts!

During the holidays, families get together to celebrate the season by preparing a delicious feast, but if you don’t practice safe cooking habits, your happy holiday could become hazardous very quickly.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking is the main cause for home fire and injuries, with Thanksgiving and Christmas being the peak days for cooking-related fires. 

Review the following safety tips to help ensure you can enjoy a safe holiday.

• Never leave cooking food unattended—stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling or broiling food. If you must leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, you should turn off the stove.
• Check food regularly while cooking and remain in the home while cooking. Use a timer as a reminder that the stave or oven is on.
• Keep the kids away from the cooking area. Enforce a “kid-free zone” and make children stay at least three feet from the stove.
• Keep anything flammable—pot holders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic back, food packaging, and towels or curtains—away from the stove, oven or any other appliance in the kitchen that generates heat.
• Do not wear loose clothing or dangling sleeves while cooking.
• Clean cooking surfaces on a regular basis to prevent grease build-up.
• Purchase a fire extinguisher to keep in the kitchen. Make sure you know proper use of extinguishers.
• Always check the kitchen before going to bed or leaving the home to make sure all stoves, ovens, and small appliances are turned off.
• Install a smoke alarm near the kitchen, on each level of the home, near sleeping areas and inside and outside bedrooms. Use the test button to check it each month. Replace all batteries at least once a year.

We at SERVPRO of Fernandina Beach/Yulee wish you a safe and happy holiday season!