SAFETY : When the Heat Is on, the Kitchen Can Be Dangerous

Avoiding burns in the kitchen involves more than just having a fire extinguisher ready. Corky Clark, senior instructor at the Culinary Institute of America, in New Hyde Park, N.Y., gives tips on the best ways to protect yourself:

* Don’t lean too close to the oven. When checking the progress of a dish, open the oven door and keep your face turned away. Pull the shelf out, remove the dish and put it on the range top. If a recipe requires basting, take the dish out, baste and put it back in the oven. It takes more time and effort, but it’s worth it for safety’s sake: Oven shelves are unsteady.

* Keep the broiler clean. Most fires in the broiler are caused by grease buildup. Be sure to thoroughly clean and scrape the broiler after every use. If you line the broiler with foil, change it every time. Baking soda and salt do work to extinguish very small flames, but Clark recommends using a fire extinguisher. If the fire is big, get out of the house.

* Point pot handles toward the middle of the stove or toward the wall. If the pot handle sticks out, there’s a chance that you could bump into it or that a child could pull the pot off the stove. If a hot pot is on the counter, tie a piece of cloth or rag on the handle to warn people (especially children) that it’s hot.

* Make sure pot mitts are perfectly dry before using them. Moisture in the mitt will create steam when you grasp a pot, and you could severely burn your hand. Don’t be cheap when it comes to mitts: Buy the thickest ones you can find.

* Don’t lift a pot top straight up. Tilt the lid so that the steam escapes away from you.

* Always use mitts to remove dishes from the microwave because microwaved food transfers its heat to the container.

* If you get burned, run very cold tap water over the burn immediately. Don’t put anything on it. If it’s an open wound or looks serious, wrap it in plain gauze and see a doctor right away.

* Equip your kitchen with a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector and, if you have gas appliances, a gas detector. Keep the fire extinguisher near the oven, a smoke detector right outside the kitchen door and the gas detector on the kitchen ceiling. The gas detector will signal if the pilot light goes out or if the oven or a burner is slightly on. Gas detectors cost about as much as smoke detectors.