In many cases of drip pan fires it's the previous cooking that creates the danger. When something is spilled into the drip pan it can not be cleaned till the burner and stove has cooled. Many people forget to go back and clean the drip pan, setting up a recipe for disaster at the next cooking session.
Before cooking anything make sure burner is cool and wipe up any spills in the drip pan and around the burner before turning the heat on.
Pay attention to heat ratings for cooking oil. Some oils can be heated more than others before catching fire. If you are cooking and the oil starts to smoke it's not only nearing the flash point, meaning it's close to catching fire, but it will emit unfavorable flavor and ruin the taste of food.
As soon as oil starts to smoke carefully remove the pan from the heat source. Even gas stoves continue to transfer heat when the flame is extinguished.
Avoid heating grease before putting food into it. Food can fall quickly into the grease and make it splash out, causing grease burns to you or hitting the heat source and catching fire.
Carefully clean spills as soon as they happen by removing food from heat source, turning off heat source and waiting for burner to cool.
When deep frying use a pan or cooking container designed for deep frying that will allow equal space of the grease and food contents above what you are frying. For example if you are cooking chicken and the grease and chicken are three inches deep, the pan sides should be at least six inches deep.
Use extreme caution putting food into hot grease, use a utensil that will allow you to put the food into the grease without dropping and without your hands coming close to the hot grease.
Use a screen that covers the pan to reduce chances of splatters outside the pan.
If you are a new or inexperienced cook do not attempt to deep fry for the first time unless you have an experienced cook with you.
Never add water to grease!
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