According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking is the leading cause of home structure fires and home fire injuries, and unattended cooking is the leading contributing factor in these fires. While community education about the dangers of unattended cooking has always been a crucial component of preventing fires, a new technology has been introduced by Pioneering Technology Corp. to help stop stove top fires before they start, regardless of the actions of the user.

The Safe-T-element™ cooking system regulates high-end temperatures at which burners operate to keep them below the auto-ignition point of oil, common foods, and household materials.  An electronically-controlled solid cover plate is installed on top of an existing stovetop burner, and a control unit inside the stove ensures the temperature of the plate cover never goes above 350⁰C/662⁰F. It does this by automatically shutting the stove off when it reaches the maximum allowed temperature and then turning it on again when it cools to just below that temperature. The technology has little effect on cooking times and quality for all types of cooking, including boiling, searing, and frying. An added benefit is an energy savings of as much as 50 percent.

“As the number one cause of home structure fires in the U.S., cooking fires represent an enormous threat to our community members and to our first responders,” said National Volunteer Fire Council Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “A typical electric stove on high can reach temperatures of above 1,300⁰F. That amount of heat is unnecessary and creates a very unsafe situation. New temperature control technology for stove tops can have a huge impact on preventing cooking fires before they start.”

The Safe-T-element system is available as a retrofit on existing stove tops or pre-installed on new stoves. The technology is already gaining momentum across North America and beyond. It is being utilized in high-risk environments like college dorms, low-income housing, and senior living facilities. The military has begun installing the technology in barracks and residential housing units.

Learn more about Safe-T-element at http://www.pioneeringtech.com/safe-t-element.