Cooking is the number one cause of home fires. Kitchen fires are often fast-spreading and very destructive. Knowing how to prevent them is the first step in being safe, but accidents do happen, so it is just as important to know what to do if a kitchen fire starts.

Use these tips and directions to stay as safe as possible in your kitchen.

Arm Yourself Properly in the Kitchen

• Install a Photoelectric smoke alarm, which detects the type of slow, smoldering fire that often starts in the kitchen. To cut down on the number of nuisance alarms caused by burnt toast and cooking, ensure that your smoke alarm has a “Hush” button that allows you to temporarily silence an alarm while keeping your family safe if a real fire breaks out.
  
  
• NEVER remove the batteries from a smoke alarm, or take it off the ceiling, to silence a nuisance alarm. 
  
  
• Equip your kitchen with a BC-rated fire extinguisher within reach in case of fire.