SOUTH BEND, IN (WSBT) — Watch what you’re cooking!
South Bend Fire Department shared safety tips to prevent your kitchen from going up in flames
Over the weekend, the South Bend Fire Department responded to two, different kitchen fires.
Now, they are urging people to take cooking safety seriously.
Those calls did result in injuries.
Officials say there are ways to stop fires before they begin. It starts with always being present in the kitchen.
“So, if you’ve got stuff on the stove top, we don’t want people walking away, going outside. We even heard instances of people running errands, leaving the home while they have food cooking,” said Derek Erquhart, Asst. Chief of Fire Prevention South Bend Fire Department
Many cooking fires also involve oil. Oil can catch fire at around 600 to 700 degrees.
“So, we want to make sure those temperatures are reduced. Keep them so you can cook your food, but one of those indicators is going to be if you start to see the oil smoking, that’s an indicator that the oil is getting too hot,” said Erquhart.
Kitchen fires are the leading cause of house fires and can quickly get out of control.
People can purchase small fire extinguishers or stove top fire stop which is made for residential or apartment use.
“These can actually Just go above your stove and there’s actually like a wick here and basically if there was ever a fire It would go to the wick and then it would actually discharge down onto your stove top,” said Erquhart.
If there’s a fire, the fire department says always make the call.
And if you extinguish it before they get there, great. If not, they’re already on the way.
“I think there’s a misconception that you’re gonna get charged if the fire department comes out. That’s not the case. We wanna make sure everybody’s safe,” said Erquhart.
If a fire does break out, stay calm and call 911, leave putting out the fire to the experts.
Dining and Cooking