The stovetop is the number one cause of household fires in North America.

• A kitchen fire occurs every 8 minutes in the United States
• Unattended cooking is responsible for 70% of these fires
• Over 53% of Americans admit to walking away from the kitchen while cooking.
• Seniors are the highest risk group in North America
  • More than 1,200 Americans over the age of 65 die as a result of fire and more than 3,000 are injured due to residential fires
  • Seniors between the age of 65 and 75 have a fire death rate twice that of the national average
  • And adults between 75 and 85 are four times as likely to die from fire
• 43% of people who have died in cooking fires were asleep at the time
• Cooking accounts for 42% of all apartment fires
• Cooking is the leading cause of fire on college campuses
• Approximately 12.3 million cooking fires each year are unreported

An electric stovetop element on high and unattended for even a short period of time reaches a dangerously high temperature and is out of control.

According to a study done by the National Association of State Fire Marshals (“NASFM”) and the Association of Appliance Manufacturers (“AHAM”), stovetop fires are the leading cause of civilian injuries, accounting for more than 400 civilian deaths, $440 million in direct property damage and over $2 billion in related costs in the United States.

Canada and the United States have the highest per capita fire death rates in the industrialized world. According to the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”), North America possesses a wealth of fire suppression technologies and fire service delivery mechanisms. However, the NFPA insists that most of the money is spent on responding to and suppressing fires, not preventing them.

"Cooking fires create the worst record for fires in the United States. Safe -T-element® will reduce that unacceptable toll when installed in homes across America." - James F. McMullen, Retired California State Fire Marshal.

How Safe-T-element® helps prevent stove top fires

The Safe-T-element® cooking system is a CSA approved component engineered to prevent stove top cooking fires before they start. Unlike other technologies that alert residents that there is already a fire or suppress an existing fire, the Safe-T-element® actually helps prevent the fire from occurring in the first place.

Each Safe-T-element is an electronically controlled solid cover plate that is installed on top of existing stovetop burners. A patented control unit installed inside the stove controls the temperature of the plate limiting the high-end temperature to 662ºF. Ignition temperature for oil and most common fibers starts at 728ºF while electric stoves on high go well above 1292ºF.

When the plate reaches just over 662ºF the stove automatically shuts off and then as the plate cools to just below 662ºF the stovetop is turned on again. In this way the burner plate caps the high-end temperature at 662ºF below the ignition level of oil and most common household materials. The temperature of the cooking vessel and it's contents will only reach a maximum of 480ºF, far below the flash point and ignition point of all major cooking oils. Considering that water boils at 212ºF, this temperature is more than enough for efficient and effective cooking.

"Our goal is to see this technology installed in all facilities in the State of Washington" - Chief Mike Brown, Executive Director, Washington State Fire Chiefs

How Safe-T-element® reduces electricity costs

Because the stovetop cycles on and off during the cooking process there is an added benefit of electricity savings. The kitchen stove is one of the only major household appliances that has not increased in energy efficiency over the past 15 years. And given that the stovetop is used during peak usage times (dinner/breakfast), demand is high and so too are the related utility costs meaning that the Safe-T-element® cooking system will pay for itself over time.