According to the American Red Cross, kitchen fires are the leading cause for structure damage and/or total loss. Research based on property claims show that fires are more likely to start in your kitchen than any other room and 90% of them are preventable.

As a preferred homeowners insurance company we know that dealing with this is not only stressful but tragic. We would like to provide you with some tips on ways to prevent and avoid ever having to deal with this situation:

• Check your smoke alarms regularly and change batteries every year
• Never leave your stove top unattended as 40% of all kitchen fires occurred while food was still in the pot/pan
• Always heat oil, water or any substance slowly and be vigilant of your heat controls
• Never put hot oil or fatty liquids in water as it will make thick smoke and can cause damage to surrounding areas
• Keep appliances and flammable products such as lighters, cartons, etc. away from the stove top
• Always use your air vent to help heat and smoke escape safely
• Keep a fire extinguisher nearby and check expiration date on it
• If a grease fire starts, do NOT attempt to put it out with water, this will combust and become a very dangerous situation. Instead, cover the flames with a metal lid or cookie sheet, turn off the heat.  If you can’t cover it, dump a cup or more of baking soda on it.

We hope these tips were useful in helping you prevent such a devastating situation. For more information visit redcross.org/homefires