In one of several recent kitchen fires in the city, Fire Risk Management Officer Scott Lanauze said an occupant tried to intervene by pouring water on the hot oil, making matters much worse.
"You will more than likely end up with six fires instead of one."
Instead, a better option would have been to smother the fire with a chopping board, pot lid, oven tray or wet tea-towel over the edges of the pan, along with turning the oven off at the wall," he said.
"Never attempt to carry the pot outside."
As long as the fire was not of an excessive size, an occupant could attempt to extinguish it, but if not, they should get out and stay out, he said.
Recent kitchen fires in Dunedin were caused by pans left on elements, cooking appliances resting on cook-tops igniting after switches were accidentally turned on, and an oven fire when an occupant was made aware of the blaze by a passer-by.
While most occupants escaped without injury, some required hospital treatment for smoke inhalation after kitchen fires.
Fire and Emergency NZ statistics showed just over half of the 257 kitchen fires in Dunedin in the past five years were caused by unattended cooking, followed by "carelessness with heat source", emphasising the importance of remaining attentive at the stove top while cooking, Mr Lanauze said.
"Whenever you leave the kitchen, it pays to ensure that any heat source is switched off if you are leaving the kitchen, even just for a few seconds.
"What may start as a banal and harmless fire can turn into a serious problem seriously quickly. One-third of our fire fatalities in New Zealand are attributed to unattended cooking."
Mr Lanauze said preventive measures could also reduce the risk of kitchen fires, including regularly cleaning range hood filters, emptying toaster crumb collection trays and keeping oven mitts and tea towels clear of cooking surfaces.
The nature of modern synthetic building materials meant kitchen fires tended to produce lots of black smoke, making battling such blazes more difficult for firefighters and creating possibly grave dangers for occupants, Mr Lanauze said.
"Modern materials when they decompose produce a lot of smoke, meaning challenging conditions are often encountered by our crews entering kitchens."
Coming in hot
Fenz kitchen fire advice. —
- Smother a fat or oil pan fire using a chopping board, pot lid, oven tray or wet tea-towel over the edges of the pan, if it is safe to do so. Switch the oven off at the wall if a pan catches fire.
- Never pour water on an oil pan fire.
- Don’t attempt to carry the pan/pot outside.
- Regularly clean oven top, including around elements.
- Empty toaster crumb trays and clean filters in range hoods.
- Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and know how to use it.
- Make sure long-life photoelectric smoke alarms are fitted at home, but not in the kitchen, as this could trigger nuisance alarms (However, heat alarms are an option in kitchens.)
