CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Chesterfield Fire and EMS is offering kitchen safety tips to residents after several cooking-related fires this year. Chesterfield Fire shared a statistic to their Facebook page on Thursday, stating that 40% of the structure fires that have happened in Chesterfiel d this year have originated in the kitchen. Additionally, they shared that cooking is "the number one cause of fires in Chesterfield" alongside photos from cooking-related fires that have occurred recently. Photos from recent Chesterfield kitchen fires (Courtesy: Chesterfield County Fire and EMS)Photos from recent Chesterfield kitchen fires (Courtesy: Chesterfield County Fire and EMS)Photos from recent Chesterfield kitchen fires (Courtesy: Chesterfield County Fire and EMS)Photos from recent Chesterfield kitchen fires (Courtesy: Chesterfield County Fire and EMS) Here are several safety tips as offered by Chesterfield Fire: Never leave your food cooking unattended on the stove. When you leave the kitchen, turn the stove burner off. Fires often start when the heat is too high -- if you see smoke or grease start to boil, turn the burner off. Turn pan handles toward the back of the stove so you can't accidentally knock them off. Make sure you never leave flammable items like oven mitts near a heat source. Keep a pan lid, baking sheet or fire blanket nearby -- it can help you smother a small fire on the stove. There have been three kitchen fires throughout Chesterfield that 8News reported on just in March -- one last week which displaced two people, one on March 13 that left three people without a home and one that left a Chesterfield resident and their dog without a home. ...read more read less