What To Do If A Kitchen Appliance Catches Fire

An electrical fire can be pretty dangerous and scary at the same time, that being said, one should always remain prepared for such unexpected happenings. The very first thing to do in case of an emergency is to remain calm and not panic at all. No matter how bad and horrifying the situation might seem. Follow the below-mentioned steps to stay safe and keep your beloved home and family safe in case of an electrical fire in one of your kitchen appliances.

Preventing the Fires from Starting

You can easily prevent the fires from starting at all by following a few basic rules linked to the safety of the kitchen appliances. First off, be sure that you are not plugging in a lot of appliances and devices into a single outlet. This can cause the wiring to get overloaded and cause a spark, this spark can easily grow into a fire, especially if there are a lot of clothes or paper related materials nearby. Also be sure to count the larger appliances here as well, since a lot of the times they remain plugged in and people completely forget about them. They, too, present a fire hazard and should not be overlooked. Larger appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines should always be turned off when you are away from home. Freezers and refrigerators should be avoided being placed in direct sunlight since it can cause the cooling systems to overwork themselves and cause fires. Be sure to check all the outlets throughout the house for burn marks, excessive heat and crackling or buzzing sounds that indicate electrical arcing. Just to be on the safe side, be sure that you have a smoke detector installed on every floor of your home. Also, be sure to test them on a regular basis so that you know that they are working properly.

What to Avoid

If a fire breaks out, people usually douse the flames using water, but this should never be done in case of an electrical fire since water conducts electricity. Dumping water near or on a power source can result in you getting electrocuted. It can also cause the fire to intensify. The water can act as a conductor and electrocute the other parts of the room, which increases the risk of igniting other things in the room on fire.

How to Deal with the Electrical Fire?

The very first thing that you need to do is that you need to unplug the appliance from its power source and then call the fire department. Make sure to take care of yourself from the flames, while you unplug the appliance. Have some sort of backup in case the flames get out of control.

For smaller fires, you can make use of baking soda to control and smother the flames. Covering the burning area with baking soda can help block the oxygen from reaching the fire. Baking soda also has sodium bicarbonate, which is the same thing that is found in fire extinguishers. A small fire can also be smothered using a blanket. Be sure that the fire is small enough, or else the blanket might catch fire too.

For larger and intense fire, use a Type C fire extinguisher. This is why you should have at least a single Type C fire extinguisher or a multi-use extinguisher at home. These extinguishers should be checked up-on on a regular basis so that you do not have expired fire extinguishers. If you have a working extinguisher, then just pull the pin off and aim the nozzle at the base of the fire and squeeze the handle. If the flames are really large and it seems that you might not be able to control the fire, then just find an exit and exit the building on an immediate basis. Once outside, you can wait for the fire department to arrive on the spot.