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Cooking Safety: Children See, Children Do Men and women of parenting age are most likely to be involved in residential cooking fires, setting a questionable example for children.

Nearly three-quarters of the 2,085 residential cooking fires included in a 10-city study of the behavioral causes of cooking fires were caused by men and women between the ages of 19 and 49, according to a study by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM).

Respondents reported that children under the age of 18 were responsible for less than 5 percent of the fires, while adults 50 and over were responsible for 26 percent of reported fires.

"We have found that educating children can be very effective in reaching parents, especially with safety messages," stated AHAM President Bob Holding. "Hopefully, they will grow up to be the fire-safe cooks of the future."

When teaching cooking safety to children, parents should:

-Keep an eye on cooking food and supervise children in the kitchen.

-Teach them to turn pot handles inward so younger siblings don't pull them down.

-Impress upon children the need to keep the range top free of anything that burns, including towels, pot holders, and paper products such as bags and paper towels.

-Do not let children play around the range and other hot appliances.

-Make sure children know how and when to call emergency services.

"All parents should consider fire prevention education a vital ingredient in cooking safety, " stated NASFM President Tom Brace.

The study, undertaken by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM), sought to determine the behavioral causes of residential cooking fires. More Editorials