Serving up fire safety in the kitchen

Serving up fire safety in the kitchen
Posted on 10/02/2020
Before you serve up a meal in the kitchen, it’s important to know the essentials of fire safety. While cooking is the #1 cause of home fires and home fire injuries, these accidents are preventable. National Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 4-10, 2020. This year’s theme is “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen!”

How to cook with caution
Tips from the National Fire Protection Association

  • Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stovetop. Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, boiling, grilling or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove. 
  • If you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking. 
  • Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels, or curtains — away from your stovetop. 
With the changes to this year’s school schedules and teaching methods, the Lenexa Fire Department joined the Heart of America’s Fire Marshal’s group to share fire prevention messages in a new socially distant way. In this video below, the Lenexa Fire Department demonstrates how to properly extinguish a stovetop grease fire. You can also see the devastating results of improperly extinguishing a grease fire.


Fire safety education isn’t just for school-aged children. Teenagers, adults, and elderly people are also at risk in fires, making it important for every member of our community to understand how to stay safe in case of a fire. View more Lenexa Fire Department fire safety videos here.

Follow the Lenexa Fire Department on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to learn fire safety tips throughout the year.

Learn more about Fire Safety Week at fpw.org.


Published Oct. 2, 2020