Holiday Safety Tips

Families gather in the kitchen while the cook(s) prepare for holiday meals. You can not avoid it. Make your kitchen safe for all ages while cooking is very important. Most house fires start in the kitchen. The number one reason is due to distraction. The cook will put something on the fire/stove and forget it to go see something on TV, or join the conversation in the other room, or attend to the kids. Be mindful of how long your pots, pans, and utensils have been on the fire. Again distraction can cause a person to grab a hot pot, pan, or utensil without a hot mitt or any other type of protection.


Because the kitchen can be very busy with lots of cooks, keep children and pets out. You don’t want to trip over them while carrying hot water or grease. You don’t want them to run up behind you while you have the oven door open. Use a safety gate with a door for easy access and boundaries. This will allow the adults to easily move in and out of the kitchen while keeping the little ones safe and out of the way. If you are unable to use a safety gate, try taping of the area around the stove or the entire to the kitchen. It will be hard to keep the pets from crossing the line; but your kids will be able to understand. Make it into a game and see how long they can keep from crossing the tape.

Here are some other tips:

~ If you can, stay in the kitchen while cooking
~ Keep the fryers and large pots toward the back burners
~ Keep things that can burn such as dishtowel and bags away from the burners
~ Keep toaster ovens clean of crumbs that can burn
~ If clothes do catch on fire; stop, drop and roll. I know its old school saying but it still works.
~ If burned, cool the burn areas with cool water or refrigerated butter
~ Always turn pot handles to the back of the stovetop prevent them being tips over or a child from pulling it down on themselves.
~ Electrical outlets in the kitchen, and especially near the kitchen sink, should have Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs). This will prevent a dangerous shock. If you don't have them, have an electrician put these in your home.
~If you will have small children visiting, install automatic snapback outlet covers
~Post emergency numbers in visible areas.