Reduce the risk of fire when cooking

​​Stay safe in your kitchen

Follow these tips to keep safe while you are cooking:

• take pans off the heat or turn the heat down if you get called away from the cooker
• take care if you are wearing loose clothing as it can catch fire easily
• don’t cook if you have been drinking or taking prescription medication
• turn saucepans so the handles don’t stick out over the edge of the hob or over another ring
• double check that the cooker is off when you have finished cooking
• make sure tea towels aren’t hanging over the cooker and don’t put oven gloves on top of a hot cooker
• keep the oven, hob and grill clean, as a built-up fat and bits of food can start a fire

If a fire starts and doesn’t go out, get out of the house, stay out and call 999.​

Chip pans, cooking with oil or deep-fat frying

Be careful when you are deep-fat frying or cooking with oil as hot oil can catch fire easily. Throw your traditional chip pan away and replace it with a thermostatically controlled deep fat fryer, or use oven chips instead.

Chip pan safety tips

If you use a chip pan:

• don’t fill it more than one-third full of oil
• dry the chips / food before putting them into the pan
• if the oil starts smoking, turn off the heat and let it cool down, otherwise it may catch fire
• turn off the hob if you have to leave the kitchen whilst using your chip pan​

If your chip pan catches fire

If your chip pan catches fire whilst cooking:

• don't panic and don't take risks
• don’t attempt to move it
• turn off the heat if it is safe to do so and don’t lean over the pan to reach the controls
• don’t use a fire extinguisher on a pan of oil because the force of the extinguisher can spread the fire
• never use water on chip pan fires as this will cause a fireball
• leave the kitchen, close the door, get everyone outside and don't go back in for any reason
• call 999​

Cooking with electrical appliances

If an electrical appliance catches fire, don't throw water on it. If it's safe to do so, you can control the fire by:

• pulling the appliance’s plug out
• switching off the power at the fuse box​​