In a recent report the United States Fire Administration reported that In 2002 alone, cooking-related fires caused an estimated 185,600 structure fires, 80 civilian deaths, 3,875 injuries, and $481 million in property damage.

"Each year, cooking fires in structures generally result in the highest number of injuries," said Charlie Dickinson, Deputy United States Fire Administrator. "Cooking fires account for a large number of preventable fires and injuries. Simply being more attentive to the use of cooking materials and equipment would greatly reduce these types of fires and injuries."

The report, "Structure Cooking Fires", was developed by the National Fire Data Center, part of FEMA's U.S. Fire Administration, and is based on data from the 2002 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). The report examines the characteristics of structure cooking fires. Cooking fires peak during the dinner hour with oil, fat, and grease being the leading types of material that ignite over 40 percent of these structure fires.

A copy of the full report can be downloaded from: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/reports/pubs/tfrs.shtm