Non-Fire Cooking Burns
Most burns associated with cooking in 2013-2017 were caused by contact with a hot object or liquid rather than by fire or flame.
Tips
- Ranges or ovens were the most common cooking equipment involved in non-fire cooking burns. Only 14% of thermal burns involving ranges or ovens were due to fire or flame.
- Although tableware is not itself used for cooking, it often holds very hot food, soups or drinks, and may itself be very hot.
- Keep hot foods and liquids away from table and counter edges.
- Have a “kid-free zone” of at least 3 feet (1 meter) around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.
- Never hold a child while you are cooking, drinking a hot liquid, or carrying hot foods or liquids.
The Facts
- Children under five face a higher risk of non-fire cooking burns. These young children account for 6% of the population but much larger percentages of non-fire burn injuries from cooking equipment, tableware such as bowls and cups, and cookware
such as pots and pans.
- In contrast to the non-fire burn estimate, reported home structure fires caused by cooking killed 530 people and injured 5,270 people. This was a fraction of total burn injuries caused by cooking, hot food, or hot drinks. Children under five
accounted for only 6% of home cooking fire deaths and 3% of home cooking fire injuries. Cooking was still the leading cause of home fire injuries in the under 5 age group.
Non-Fire Cooking Burns Seen at Emergency Departments 2013-2017 Annual Averages
Contact with hot range or oven
15,700
Cookware scald
13,500
Tableware scald
9,900
Contact with hot cookware
9,400
Contact with hot grill
5,200
Microwave oven scald
5,200
Range or oven scald
3,900
Percentage of Non-Fire Cooking-Related Burns Seen at Emergency Departments in 2013-2017 by Children Under Five
Tableware scald
55%
Contact with hot range or oven
34%
Contact with hot grill
22%
Microwave oven scald
20%
Cookware scald
12%
Contact with hot cookware
9%
Source: Data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, queried in October 2018.