Kevin McSweeney, the fire marshal at University of Delaware, said that starting next semester, his university is offering an optional course on cooking safety. The course is not for credit and is free for students.
“The course is focused on how to set the microwave properly and cooking safety,” McSweeney said. “We are offering it because students have requested it and they want better results in their cooking skills.”
He said the college has installed safety devices to regulate stove temperatures including a “smart burner” to help prevent cooking fires. He said the university also sells microwave safety sensors that turn off the microwave when food inside is being overcooked.
“A leading cause to microwave incidents is that people either overheat their food by setting the microwave on high or letting food heat much longer than needed,” McSweeney said.