I just wanted to show you a link to a relevant article in my local newspaper - kitchen fires are becoming more common here. It gives a number of examples of less than intelligent first responses to a fire which just goes to show that having a plan and practising it so that you respond instinctively and correctly can save you from a bigger problem.

Cooking Fires Becoming an Alarming Trend

I know it's easy to forget about something on the stove, I have in the past had some burned or spoiled food because I was not attentive to what I was cooking. It isn't a big leap from burned food to an actual kitchen fire.