Cooking fires are the #1 cause of home* fires and home fire injuries.
Nearly all cooking equipment fires start with the ignition of food,
other cooking materials (e.g., grease, cooking oil), or other items
normally found or installed in a kitchen (e.g., cabinets, wall
coverings, paper or plastic bags, curtains). Facts & figures
- In 2005, U.S.
fire departments responded to 146,400 home structure fires that
involved cooking equipment in 2005. These fires caused 480 civilian
fire deaths, 4,690 civilian fire injuries and $876 million in direct
property damage.
- Cooking equipment fires are the leading cause of
home structure fires and associated civilian injuries. These fires
accounted for 40% of all reported home structure fires in 2005 and 36%
of home civilian injuries.
- Twelve percent of the fires occurred when something that could catch fire was too close to the equipment.
- Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires.
Source: NFPA's Fire Analysis and Research Division
Also see: Fact sheet on home fires involving cooking equipment.(PDF, 78 KB);)
* Homes are dwellings, duplexes, manufactured homes, apartments, townhouses, rowhouses and condominiums.
NFPA does not test, label or approve any products.
Updated: 11/08
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Cooking safety tips
What you need to know about staying fire-safe in the kitchen.
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Grills
Learn how to use your gas-fueled or charcoal grill safely.
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