Abstract Unattended cooking appears to be a relevant and pressing issue within the USA, representing the number one cause of residential fires in the USA each year. This research identifies the reasons for cooking fires, evaluates the impact on lives and properties, and proposes recommendations based on the investigation of real fires affecting residential buildings. A discussion on cooking practices in the USA and how they have changed over time across the nation is followed by an analysis of personal and family circumstances on the occurrence of unattended cooking fires. Fire safety information and warnings of cooktops and ranges sold in the USA are examined. The research is also focused on the analysis of US Fire incidents and Civilian Casualty datasets from 2012 to 2021 to evaluate the influence of personal and family circumstances on kitchen fires in residential buildings. Unattended equipment was found to be the highest factor contributing to ignition for more than 14% of fire incidents in the examined period, with buildings mainly equipped with smoke detectors and not sprinklers. Exposure to fire products is the main cause of injury, where the attempt to control the fire was the predominant activity at the time of the injury. The research highlights the need for continuous evaluation of fire incidents related to cooking fires to address changes in cooking practices, social behaviour, and familiar aspects able to support fire prevention campaigns and social awareness.
Salem et al. (Tue,) studied this question.