The  Firemen’s Association of the State of New York is concerned that, with coronavirus restrictions, more people — perhaps inexperienced in the kitchen — are cooking at home and causing fires.

“Some local fire departments and dispatch agencies are seeing an increase in calls for minor kitchen fires and burnt-food incidents,” said a release from FASNY. “Local volunteer fire departments are working hard to protect their neighbors and respond to calls for help aduring these challenging times.”

Founded in 1872, the association represents the interests of about 90,000 volunteer firefighters and emergency medical workers in New York State.

According to the National Fire Prevention Association, kitchen fires are the number-one cause of home fires and are the number-one cause of home fire injuries. The leading cause of fires in the kitchen is unattended cooking.

“We typically see an increase in home kitchen fires around the winter holidays when families host large dinners, ” said FASNY President Steven E. Klein in the release. “We want to make sure during this pandemic, as everyone is staying home, that we can avoid unnecessary tragedy. Kitchen fires can be avoided by following some simple safety tips like never leaving the stove unattended and checking that smoke alarms are in good working order.”

The association is stressing these cooking safety tips:

— Remain in the kitchen while cooking. Whether you’re frying, grilling, baking, or broiling food, it’s always a good idea to supervise cooking directly. With many New Yorkers working from home, or attending to school-age children that are now home more, it is very easy to become distracted while cooking;

— Most cooking fires involve the stovetop, so keep anything that can catch fire away from it, and turn off the stove when you leave the kitchen, even if it’s for “just a second.” A second is all it takes for a house fire to start;

— If you’re simmering, boiling, baking or roasting food, check it regularly and use a timer to remind yourself that you’re cooking;

— For homes with children, have the kids remain outside the kitchen area while food is being prepared. Pets should also be kept out of the kitchen while cooking. The safest chef is an undistracted chef;

— Avoid loose or dangling clothing when cooking, particularly around the stovetop burners on gas ranges; and

— Make sure your smoke detectors are functioning by pressing the “test” button. If needed, replace the batteries. If the detector does not function after testing, install brand-new smoke alarms.