It’s National Home Fire Safety Week

Press Release

For many Canadians, cooking is a stress-relieving hobby. For others, it's a chore. But no matter how you view the task, cooking also brings risk: it is a leading cause of residential fires across Canada.

National Home Fire Safety Week is November 24 – 30 and this year, the Canada Safety Council wants to remind you to practice caution in the kitchen.

With so many Canadians still spending large amounts of time at home during the global pandemic, there's necessarily an increase in the amount of time we're spending in our kitchens cooking. And unfortunately, the data bears out the increased fire risk. According to Allstate Insurance Company of Canada, there has been an increase of more than 300 per cent in “cooking or smoking related fires claims compared to last year.”

“It can't be overstated how quickly fire can catch and spread,” said Gareth Jones, President and CEO of the Canada Safety Council. “A moment of inattention in the kitchen can be all it takes for an unattended pot to catch fire.”

Grease fires are a frequent source of residential kitchen fires, often made worse by improper mitigation efforts. NEVER use water on a grease fire. This may cause the grease to spread and make the fire worse than it might've otherwise been. Instead, if a grease fire occurs, you should smother the fire by covering it with a lid or another pan. Be sure to also turn off the heat, but do not remove the pot or pan from the stove.