Holiday cooking safety tips

As we approach the holidays, we are also coming up on the time of the year when homeowners get the most use out of their kitchens. While the holidays create many safety hazards around the house, the risk of getting injured or starting a fire is especially high in the kitchen. Here are a few of our best holiday cooking safety tips to help you get through the most wonderful time of the year safe and sound.

Don’t abandon your kitchen

When you have a packed house, it can be tempting to escape the kitchen to socialize with loved ones or check on how your guests are doing. But you should never do this while you have something on the stove or in the oven. Otherwise, you run the risk of burning whatever dish you are preparing, or starting a kitchen fire. You can always take shifts watching the food to make sure everyone is getting the chance to socialize.

Set check-in timers

While you shouldn’t be leaving your food alone in the kitchen, it can be difficult to remember to actually check on your food in the oven. This is especially true if you’re with family gathered around the kitchen island or just sidetracked by other cooking duties. Set a timer to remind yourself to check the food that’s in the oven. Even if it’s not done and you don’t need to rotate your pans, you still want to make sure nothing has spilled or burned.

Test smoke alarms

With all the fire hazards that are around during the holidays, you want to make sure you have adequate protection ready. Smoke alarms are crucial! Test them before all the cooking starts so you know that if an accident does happen, you’re alerted to it ASAP. All you have to do to make sure an alarm works is push the “test” button.

Know how to extinguish the right way

You should always make sure you have a fire extinguisher ready in the kitchen just in case. However, if there’s a spill, you may not need the power of an extinguisher to put out the flames. You’ll have a few options including:

• Turning off the burner
• Smothering the flames with baking soda or salt
• Covering the flames with a metal lid or cookie sheet
• Throwing a wet towel or washcloth on the flames

Keep flammables at a distance

Our final holiday cooking safety tip is to be cautious of what you are allowing near the stovetop. Certain oven mitts and potholders as well as dishtowels and napkins can easily catch fire. Try not to wear any clothing that’s too loose because if you’re not careful this could also catch fire. The same goes for any tiny sous chefs you’ve recruited!

Even on the worst holidays, temporary housing is available

When you follow all of these kitchen fire safety tips, you’ll be prepared to have a safer holiday. For any homeowner that’s experienced a house fire in the U.S. or Canada, Sedgwick’s temporary housing division can help. We assist with insurance housing any day, any time. Even on holidays, we are prompt in supporting homeowners. You can get in touch with us for a custom solution today!