Sensors and Machine Learning Models to Prevent Cooktop Ignition and Ignore Normal Cooking

Published

July 28, 2021

Author(s)

Amy Mensch, Anthony Hamins, Wai Cheong Tam, John Lu, Kathryn Markell, Christina You, Matthew Kupferschmid

Abstract

According to a recent NFPA report, 49 % of reported home fires involve cooking equipment, with cooktops accounting for 87 % of cooking-fire deaths and 80 % of the civilian injuries [1, 2]. Between 2014–2018, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 172,900 home cooking fires per year, leading to an average of 550 civilian deaths [2]. Electric-coil cooktops manufactured after June 2018 in the U.S. must pass the abnormal cooking test in UL 858 [3]. The test prescribes a maximum temperature of the dry-pan or a performance test for ignition-prevention using 50 mL of canola oil with the coil element on its highest power setting. This standard does not apply to older cooktops or gas cooktops. Therefore, we consider the feasibility of using a variety of sensors as the basis for a retrofit device that would provide early warning or control to automatically shut off the cooktop during unattended cooking, while ignoring normal-cooking activities. Several studies [4–9] have investigated the performance advantages of multiple sensors over a single sensor for detecting generalized fire conditions, preventing cooktop ignition, or resisting nuisance sources. However, a comprehensive study to compare the effectiveness of a wide range of sensors and sensor combinations has not previously been conducted. This article is a compressed version of a recently published study [10] with an objective to apply data-driven, statistical methods and machine learning methods to design a detection algorithm for cooktop ignition prevention. Data was obtained from experiments with a variety of ignition and normal-cooking scenarios to develop and evaluate prediction algorithms using threshold analysis and neural network models.

Citation

SFPE Europe

Issue

22

Pub Type

Others

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Keywords

Cooktop ignition, Sensor analysis, Neural networks, ignition prevention

Citation

Mensch, A. , Hamins, A. , Tam, W. , Lu, J. , Markell, K. , You, C. and Kupferschmid, M. (2021), Sensors and Machine Learning Models to Prevent Cooktop Ignition and Ignore Normal Cooking, SFPE Europe, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=932694 (Accessed October 8, 2025)