MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Cooking causes more than 40 percent of fires reported in the homes according to the National Fire Protection Association. Meridian Township's Fire Inspector Tavis Millerov went over proper techniques and safety tips, when cooking in the kitchen.

“We’re here a Murphy to teach kids as part of our mobile safety classroom some of the hazards that they will find in the kitchen and talk about general fire safety and how to exit out of the bedroom in the event of an emergency,“ said Millerov.

Millerov explained what the biggest causes of fires were.

“Most of the time when we see kitchen fires throughout America the No. 1 cause is inattentiveness, especially when it gets around the holiday season, you’re busy doing so many things and multitasking at once that some of the fine details fall through the cracks and that’s where you get in trouble.“

Millerov also explained how to prevent fires, “Make sure your dishtowels aren't inside the oven door, and properly stored on the handle. Secondly having items too close to your stove make sure they’re disposed of. One of the big things as we’re coming into thanksgiving is turkey fryer season. The big thing to remember turkey fryers are big pots of grease. With grease fires, the main thing is never use water. It will cause a grease fire to get bigger. We want to cover it with a lid.”

Millerov also mentioned that it is important to make sure that the turkey is completely un-thawed and dry before placing in fryer. The moisture can cause a steam explosion.

When asked what families should do before preparing their meals. Millerov said, “Have a plan… have an idea of what kind of times are involved with it. One of the things I like to tell people is to cook with an oven mit on your hand or a kitchen utensil because studies have shown that when you go do something else the oven mit will jog your memory and hopefully by then its not too late.”

Millerov explained how to use the stove and oven safely. He said that keeping stove temperatures at a good level for what you’re cooking is important, and when cooking with grease don’t turn the levels up higher than needed.

With the holidays coming up, Millerov was asked how many is too many in the kitchen. He said, “if the cook’s starting to feel crowded you need to thin the crowd out.”

Millerov also gave some additional tips. “Make sure your fireplaces, and wood stoves are properly maintained and have then checked by a professional.”