Approximate Reading time: 3 minutes
How do you think you would you react if you walked into your kitchen and saw your stove in flames with said flames heading up the wall?
A few short weeks ago, I would have felt pretty confident in stating that I would have reacted appropriately.
If you had asked me if I would panic, I would have said most definitely not.
I would have been wrong.
Just recently, I walked into that exact scenario.
A cutting board sitting on the stove with the burner turned on low, had smoldered all night long. Just as I walked into the kitchen, it burst into flames, aided by the coffee filters that were sitting on top of the cutting board.
And I froze. (This will not surprise my cousins, one of whom had to pull me out of the way when I reacted the exact same way in front of an oncoming train.)
To my credit, I think I froze because I honestly didn’t know what to do first: Call 911, get my mom, Brian and Isaac (all of whom were sleeping) out of the house or try to put out the fire. Every one of those things were of the utmost importance.
So, I SCREAMED!!! (and screamed and screamed) for Brian.
Brian is honestly the calmest person I know. He picked up the whole flaming mess (minor burns on his hands), tossed it out the back door, grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the remaining flames.
By the grace of God, a major catastrophe was averted that morning.
In the space of just a few short minutes, I discovered I didn’t know squat about either preventing or reacting to a kitchen fire.
Experience is the best teacher. May my experience become your teacher, so you need not learn the hard way.
An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure, especially when preventing kitchen fires.
Above all else, nix the practice of leaving anything sitting on top of the stove.
Ever. Just don’t do it. No matter how heat proof it may be, left on a burner long enough, almost anything sitting on the stove is a recipe for disaster.
Double check the burners before leaving the room
A burner turned down low resembles the position of a burner that has been turned off. Check, check and double check that the burners are actually in the off position.
Install a smoke alarm IN THE KITCHEN
A smoke alarm located in another part of the house, even on the same floor, is too far away. By the time the smoke makes its way to the smoke alarm in a far away room, it’s too late.
(Our smoke alarm was located on the same floor in a different part of the house)
Routinely check the batteries in the smoke alarms
Going forward, twice a year when the time changes, you can expect a reminder in Micki’s Little Letter (my weekly newsletter) to check the batteries in your smoke alarm.
Better yet, simply replace the batteries twice a year.
How devastating to lose your home due to old battery failure.
In the event that your preventative measures fail, be prepared
Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen
Having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen literally saved our house. If it has been years since you updated, buy a new one. Weirdly (or actually God at work, Isaac had randomly purchased a new fire extinguisher to replace our thirty-year-old version.)
A fire extinguisher is cheap insurance in preventing the spread of a kitchen fire.
Know where the fire extinguisher is
Brian knew exactly where the fire extinguisher was and how to use it.
Know how to use the fire extinguisher that you have purchased for the kitchen
Take a few minutes to actually look at the fire extinguisher and see how it works. Explain it to your kids.
I hadn’t had a refresher course in the use of a fire extinguisher since grade school. Needless to say, I remembered nothing.
Easier than a fire extinguisher is First Alert EZ Fire Spray.
I had no idea that such a thing existed, but it does. There is a can now safely sitting on a shelf right next to my stove.
Have a plan
Panicking isn’t considered a plan. Even though we grow up hearing about kitchen fires, most of us don’t intentionally create a plan.
Call 911?
Evacuate?
Try and fight the fire?
Decide what your plan of action is BEFORE you are in that situation.
Getting my family out and calling 911 will be my first priorities. My house can be replaced. My family can’t.
Make sure your plan includes how to get everyone out and where they should go.
There are no second chances in the event of a real fire.
According to the American Red Cross, home fires are more likely to start in your kitchen than in any other room.
Don’t assume that it won’t happen to you.
For thirty-one years, we had never experienced a kitchen fire. Then we did.
Intentionally preventing and planning for a kitchen fire (or any home fire for that matter) can truly be the difference between life and death.
The Red Cross offers a more comprehensive list of preventative tips and fire facts.
Why subscribe to Micki’s Little Letter?
#Never miss a post
#Printables included just for subscribers
#A little life hack included in each weekly(ish) issue
#Little Ideas for a Clean(ish) House included as a download in the first newsletter
LIKE IT? SHARE IT!
(it’s a little thing that means a lot to me!)