Friday 19th January 2024
What is pancake day?
Pancake day, or Shrove Tuesday, is a Christian traditional feast that takes place just before Lent. Across the world every Shrove Tuesday, thousands of people cook and eat pancakes. Pancakes are easy to make, and many children will get involved in cooking them.
Cooking pancakes is fun for the whole family, but there can be safety risks, especially if children are helping in the kitchen. If your frying pan caught fire, would you and your children know what to do?
Can pancakes catch fire?
Yes, pancakes, and more importantly the oil in which they are cooked, can catch fire. It is all too easy to get distracted lathering your pancake in your favourite topping. It doesn’t take much for a pan with oil to overheat and to burst into flames, so take care when cooking with oil.
Top Pancake Day Safety Tips
Before you get started
Ensure that you have an in-date fire blanket on hand, and that everyone in your home knows how to use it.
Fire blankets are suitable for use on Class F fires (cooking oils and fats), and should be a safety feature of every kitchen.
You will see the instructions clearly printed on the front of most fire blankets, and tutorial videos are available online. You can find more information in our fire blanket help guide.
Before pancake day, we recommend that you go through the evacuation plan for your house before cooking, to ensure that everyone knows to get out of danger quickly and safely.
You can also keep your family safe by ensuring that enough smoke and heat alarms are fitted and working in your property. Why not sign up for Safelincs’ Alarm Test Reminder Service to keep your family safe all year round?
How to extinguish a pancake on fire
Make sure everyone who will be cooking knows what to do if a pancake catches fire:
- Stay calm and turn off any heat sources if you can
- If the flames are still just in the pan, cover the fire with a metal lid or a fire blanket
- If you cannot safely extinguish the fire yourself, evacuate the building and call the fire brigade immediately.
NEVER attempt to extinguish an oil fire with water, as this can cause explosions. This YouTube Video is a useful resource to share with your family.
While you are cooking
Ensure that a responsible person is supervising the cooking of the pancakes at all times.
Pancakes are simple to make and lots of little ones like to get involved on Shrove Tuesday, but parents and guardians should be mindful of the dangers in the kitchen. As with all cooking, open flames and hot pans pose burn risks. It’s a good idea to always have a fully stocked burns kit on hand in the kitchen in case accidents happen.
Turn off the heat in between ‘rounds’, when the pan is not being used.
When excitement levels are high, it can be easy to forget normal safety habits. You would never leave the hob on while eating dinner – make sure it is off while you are eating your pancakes, even if you are planning to go back and make more.
Check your cooking area is clean and clear to prevent anything from catching fire.
Keeping a clear workspace when cooking can be hard, especially with small children around. Even if you can’t keep on top of the floury counters and sticky fingers this pancake day, ensure that the area around the hob stays clear. If you put oven mitts and tea towels down next to the cooking area, this can pose a huge fire risk.
For more top home safety tips, try the home fire safety check. This free tool will help you to identify fire safety hazards in your home and offers clear tips and advice for how to improve safety for your household!
Easy Pancake Recipe
We recommend BBC Good Food’s Easy Pancake recipe for all aspiring chefs!
Enjoy pancake day and stay safe! 🥞
