Cooking Fires Leading Cause of Home Blazes

SUNDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDayNews) -- Cooking fires are still the leading cause of home fires and home-fire injures in the United States, says a new National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) study.

The report found that cooking was responsible for 117,100 home fires in 2001, which resulted in 370 deaths, 4,290 injuries and $453 million in property damage.

Cooking fires often occur when people leave cooking food unattended. Most of these fires start within the first 15 minutes of cooking.

While the number of cooking fires are declining, they''re declining much more slowly than other causes of home fires, the study said.

The NFPA offers advice on how to reduce the risk of cooking fires:

• Make sure that combustible items -- rags, pot holders, curtains and bags -- are kept away from cooking surfaces.
• Never leave food cooking on the stovetop and always keep a close watch on food cooking inside the oven.
• Don''t cook if you feel drowsy or are affected by drugs, alcohol or medications.
• Don''t wear loose-fitting clothing when you cook and roll up your sleeves. If your clothes catch fire, stop, drop and roll until the fire is out.
• Clean your cooking equipment to keep it free of grease or cooking materials that can ignite.
• Keep children and pets away from cooking areas. Designate a three-foot child-free zone around the stove.

More information

The U.S. Fire Administration has more about cooking fires.

-- Robert Preidt

SOURCE: National Fire Protection Association, news release, Jan. 20, 2005