Kelly's Korner - Kitchen Fires

Hey, All,

I was cruising the web for ideas for this blog and came across this tidbit that I'd thought I'd pass along.

Did you know that unattended cooking is the number one contributor to home fires in the US?  Wow.  I mean, how could that happen?  You are always there in the kitchen, right?  Whoops, the doorbell rings and no one else is available to answer it.  Gotta go answer a call of nature - only going to take a sec, right?  Kids get into a major tussle and you're the only referee available.  Great grandma decides she's going to make some soup and then forgets what's she's doing and leaves the kitchen.  Kids decide they're going to "help" Mom and cook they're own dinner.

Creative Commons license on image.

All recipes for disaster, right?  The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) announced in October that they have a plan to help reduce the potential for unattended cooking fires. This will encompass all cooktops and ranges - not only conventional coil tops, but gas, glass and induction.

There are several things you can do to reduce the chances of a cooking fire.  First of all would be to KEEP AN EYE ON WHAT YOU'RE DOING!  Do not ever leave things on the stovetop without turning off the burner and removing whatever you have off the cooktop.  You don't really need to turn the burners onto HIGH - it may take a bit longer, but lower settings will cook just as well.  Teach your children kitchen safety.  Make sure there is a fire extinguisher handy and in good working condition and everyone knows how to use it.  Many times just putting a lid on the pan that's flared up will kill the flames.  Dumping baking soda on flames works also.  DON'T EVER PUT WATER ON A KITCHEN FIRE!!!  If the fire is grease-based water will only spread the flames and you never put water on anything electric.  Call 911 immediately and get everyone out of the house if you have a fire.  Even if you get it put out, there may be other factors involved and your heroic firefighters will check everything out.

Now if you have a conventional coil range or cooktop, WL May has a solution for you now.  We have a product call Safe T Elements that can be installed on most stoves.  What this kit is are cast iron plates attached to the elements that are hooked up to a computer board that regulates the temperature of the burners.  You can actually put a piece of paper between the burner and your pan and turn it on and the paper will not burn but your water will still be boiling.  These are great in any kitchen - especially if you have children or elderly people who are a bit forgetful.  I know that many multi-family complexes are installing these.  They do need to be installed by a qualified technician and we can help you with that.  Cost of this kit is approximately $190 suggested retail, not including installation, and come in either 2 and 2 or 3 and 1 configurations (2 large and 2 small burners or 3 small and 1 large).  Isn't this a small cost to pay for the peace of mind of not having your home and loved ones endangered by a house fire?

The first of the year is a great time to check all fire extinguishers and batteries on your smoke detectors.  Get yours checked now!

Have a great (and safe!) week!

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Kelly's Korner - A True Hell's Kitchen

Hey, All!

Saturday I was here at work and perusing my Facebook page and Viral Nova had pictures of "Cooking Fails" - things that people tried to cook and came out horrible wrong.  The first picture had me recoiling in horror.  It was really tough to even look at the rest but they weren't as bad.

http://www.viralnova.com/new-cooking-fails/

There are soooo many things wrong with this picture!  I certainly hope your kitchen/stove doesn't look like this!

1.  Obvious!  The oven hasn't been cleaned in so long that the ick on the bottom spontaneously combusts.

2.  Missing burner knob - bring in or call us with your model number and W L May can find a replacement for that!

3.  Foil being used for drip pans.  Oh, this is so dangerous in so many ways!  Grease and goo collect a lot more in this and can start a kitchen fire so much easier.  And the fact that this is a gas stove makes it more likely.  Also, the heat can be reflected up and create hot spots and shorten the life of your burners.  Drip pans are usually inexpensive and quick to change.  Check them out periodically.  I didn't think it had been that long ago that I had replaced mine, but when I was doing my staycation cleaning they were pretty bad (head hung in shame!).  Again, contact W L May and we can get replacements for you.

4.  I don't even want to guess at what they are trying to cook here much less eat it!

5.  Probably a good thing we can't see the rest of the kitchen....

If you do have a fire in your oven the best way to put it out if you don't have an extinguisher handy, is to dump baking soda on it.  DO NOT USE ANY OTHER BAKING INGREDIENT!  Flour make look the same but it is NOT.  DO NOT USE WATER!  Call 911 immediately if you can't control it immediately.

Now that I've turned your stomach a bit, take a good look at your stove and call us if you need replacement parts.

Have a great week!

Truck Stock Thursday: Safe-T-Elements

According to the National Fire Prevention Association, "Ranges, with or without ovens, accounted for the majority (58%) of home cooking fire incidents and even lager shares of civilian deaths (87%)." It's no surprise to find that the appliance in home with the most direct heat would start the most fires. Due to advances in technology, that number could be greatly reduced. Pioneering Technologies has created a great fire prevention solution with the Safe-T-Element. This electric range modification works by causing the element to cycle on and off keeping the element hot enough to cook as normal while staying just below the point of ignition. This has a side benefit of reducing electrical usage while it helps provide fire safety. Studies show that the majority of kitchen related house fires are in the homes of seniors, students, a low income residents. In many rental situations these are the tenants in the units. If you do service for, or own or operate a rental unit, the Safe-T-Element is a worthwhile investment for the extra layer of protection it provides to your property. Of course, the Safe-T-Element can help protect ANY home with an open coil electric range. Check out the video below and for more information or to order Safe-T-Elements, contact us at W.L. May Company.