How long is food safe in the refrigerator during a power outage?

According to the USDA, a refrigerator will keep food safe for up to 4 hours during a power outage if the door remains closed. A full freezer holds safe temperatures for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if half full). Discard any perishable food that has been above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 hours or more. Never taste food to determine its safety.

Can I use a charcoal grill or camp stove inside my apartment during a power outage?

Never use a charcoal grill, propane grill, camp stove, or portable gas stove indoors. These produce carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas that can be fatal in enclosed spaces. According to the CPSC, carbon monoxide from portable generators, grills, and fuel-burning appliances causes more than 80 deaths per year in the United States. Only use these devices outdoors with adequate ventilation.

What is the safest way to heat food in an apartment during a power outage?

The safest approach is to eat foods that require no heating at all: canned goods, peanut butter, crackers, granola bars, dried fruit, and bread. If you have a portable power station, you can run a small electric appliance like a microwave, electric kettle, or hot plate for brief periods. Canned heat (Sterno-type products) can warm food in a well-ventilated room for short periods, but it is not designed for full cooking and produces some carbon monoxide.

Cooking During a Power Outage in an Apartment

Start here

The best outage meal needs no cooking.

Before exploring how to heat food without power, consider whether you need to heat food at all. Most short outages (under 24 hours) are better handled by eating foods that require no preparation, no fuel, no fire, and no cleanup. This is not a lesser option. It is the safest, simplest, and most practical approach for an apartment.

Foods that need nothing

Peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter
Crackers, flatbread, tortillas, pita
Canned tuna, chicken, or beans (eat at room temperature)
Canned fruit in juice
Trail mix, granola bars, protein bars
Dried fruit (raisins, apricots, cranberries)

Nuts and seeds
Cereal (dry or with shelf-stable milk)
Bread, bagels, muffins
Applesauce cups
Shelf-stable juice boxes or pouches
Individually wrapped cheese or cheese crackers

Keep 3 days of no-cook food per person in your apartment at all times. This is the foundation of apartment food preparedness, not the fallback.

If you have young children, a warm meal during a stressful event matters more for morale than nutrition. The sections below cover how to heat food safely. But for most adults in a short outage, eating cold food is a perfectly reasonable strategy that avoids every fire and air-quality risk on this page.

Non-negotiable

Never use these inside your apartment.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas produced by burning fuel. In an enclosed space like an apartment, it can reach lethal concentrations in minutes. The following devices produce carbon monoxide and must never be used indoors for cooking, heating, or any other purpose.

Charcoal grills and charcoal briquettes

Charcoal produces extremely high levels of carbon monoxide. A single charcoal grill burning indoors can produce lethal CO concentrations within an hour. According to the CPSC, charcoal should never be burned inside homes, vehicles, tents, or any enclosed area (cpsc.gov).

Propane and kerosene stoves or heaters

Camp stoves, portable propane burners, and kerosene devices are designed for outdoor use with unlimited ventilation. An apartment window cracked open does not provide adequate ventilation. The CPSC and Ready.gov both warn against using these devices indoors (ready.gov).

Portable generators

Generators produce large volumes of carbon monoxide and must be operated outdoors, at least 20 feet from any window, door, or vent. According to the CPSC, portable generators cause an average of more than 80 CO-related deaths per year in the United States (cpsc.gov, January 2026). An apartment hallway, balcony, or garage is not safe.

Your gas oven or gas stovetop (for heating the room)

If your apartment has a gas stove and the gas supply is still working, you can briefly use the stovetop burners to heat food. However, never use the gas oven or stovetop as a space heater. Running a gas oven with the door open or leaving burners on for warmth produces carbon monoxide and is a fire hazard. Ready.gov explicitly warns against this practice (ready.gov).

If your CO detector goes off

Leave the apartment immediately. Do not try to find the source. Move to fresh air and call 911. Carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms include headache, dizziness, nausea, and confusion. By the time you feel confused, you may not be able to leave on your own. A battery-operated or battery-backup CO detector is not optional in any apartment.

Option 1: Electric

Power station plus a small appliance.

If you have a portable power station (see the Backup Power guide), you can run a small electric cooking appliance. This is the safest way to heat food indoors during an outage because electric appliances produce no carbon monoxide, no open flame, and no combustion byproducts.

Appliances ranked by efficiency

Electric kettle

800-1,200W / ~100 Wh per boil

Boils 1 liter of water in 4-6 minutes. Makes instant oatmeal, ramen, instant soup, coffee, tea, and rehydrated freeze-dried meals. The single most useful cooking appliance for an outage. A 500Wh station can boil water 4-5 times. Choose a 1,000W or lower model; some 1,500W kettles exceed smaller stations' inverter capacity.

Microwave (700W compact)

700-1,000W / ~50-100 Wh per use

Heats canned soup, leftovers, and pre-cooked meals in 2-4 minutes. A 700W compact microwave draws roughly 1,000-1,200W from the outlet (microwaves are not 100% efficient). Your power station must support that continuous draw. Most stations under 500Wh cannot run a microwave.

Single-burner hot plate or induction cooktop

300-1,800W / ~150-300 Wh per meal

Cooks anything a stovetop can, but draws significant power. A low-setting induction burner at 300-500W is manageable on a larger power station. A full-power 1,800W burner drains a 1,000Wh station in under an hour. Use low settings and short cook times. Induction is safer than resistive hot plates because the surface does not get hot without a pan on it.

Immersion heater (beverage coil)

300-500W / ~50 Wh per use

A small coil you dip into a mug or pot of water. Heats one cup of water in 3-5 minutes. Draws less power than a kettle but heats less water. Good for single servings of instant coffee, tea, or broth. Under $10.

The math on meals

A 500Wh power station can heat roughly 3-5 meals using an electric kettle (the most efficient option) or 2-3 meals in a compact microwave. A 1,000Wh station roughly doubles those numbers. If you are conserving power for lights, phone charging, and medical devices, cooking electrically may consume your station faster than you want. Balance cooking against your other power needs.

Option 2: Gas stovetop

If you have gas, you may still have a burner.

In many apartments, the gas supply continues during a power outage even when electric ignition does not work. If your apartment has a gas stovetop, you may be able to light the burners manually with a long-reach lighter or match. The oven requires electric ignition on most modern ranges and will not work.

How to light a gas burner manually

Turn the burner knob to the lowest setting. Hold a lit long-reach lighter or fireplace match near the burner ports. The gas should ignite. Adjust the flame to the desired level. Never turn the gas on and wait before lighting. If the burner does not ignite within a few seconds, turn the gas off, wait 30 seconds for the gas to dissipate, and try again.

Not all modern gas ranges allow manual lighting. Some have safety interlocks that prevent gas flow without electric ignition. If the burner will not light with a match, do not force it. The interlock is a safety feature.

Ventilation rules

Gas burners are designed for indoor use and produce far less CO than charcoal or propane camp stoves. However, your range hood exhaust fan will not work without power. Open a window in the kitchen while cooking to provide fresh air circulation. Cook for short periods. Do not leave multiple burners running for extended time. If you smell gas at any point, turn off all burners, open windows, leave the apartment, and contact your gas utility.

Option 3: Canned heat

Sterno and canned heat. Know what it is.

Canned heat (brand names include Sterno, Safe Heat, and others) is a gel fuel in a small can, originally designed for catering: warming food in a chafing dish at a buffet. It produces a low, controlled flame. Some preparedness guides recommend it for emergency cooking. The reality is more limited than those guides suggest.

What it can do

Warm food that is already cooked. Heat water slowly (15-20 minutes for one cup, depending on the product). Keep a pot of soup warm enough to eat. It is a warming device, not a cooking device. You will not boil water quickly, cook raw meat, or make a full meal with canned heat. It is designed to maintain serving temperature, not to bring food up from cold.

The carbon monoxide question

Canned heat fuel (typically ethanol or methanol gel) does produce some carbon monoxide when it burns, especially as the flame consumes available oxygen in the room. Products labeled for indoor catering use are designed for short-duration warming in large, ventilated rooms. An apartment kitchen is a smaller space with less air volume.

If you use canned heat indoors: open a window in the room, limit use to 20-30 minutes at a time, use only one can at a time, never leave it burning unattended, and have a working battery-operated CO detector nearby. Extinguish by placing the lid over the can. Do not blow on the flame. Allow the can to cool completely before handling.

Do not use canned heat as a room heater. Do not burn multiple cans simultaneously in a closed room. Do not sleep with canned heat burning. These uses exceed the product's design intent and significantly increase CO risk.

If you stock it

Buy only products explicitly labeled for indoor catering use. A small folding Sterno stove ($10-$15) holds the can and supports a pot. Each can burns for 2-6 hours depending on size. Store in a cool, dry place away from heat sources. The gel is flammable even when not lit. Three or four cans provide 2-3 days of food warming for a short outage. It is inexpensive emergency insurance, but it is a supplement to no-cook food, not a replacement for it.

Option 4: Outdoors

Cooking on the balcony. Maybe.

If you have a balcony, it is technically an outdoor space. A small propane camp stove or portable grill on a balcony avoids the indoor CO problem. However, this option has significant restrictions that make it impractical for many apartment residents.

Check before you cook

Lease restrictions. Many leases prohibit open flames, grills, or cooking appliances on balconies. Some explicitly ban propane. Read your lease before assuming this is allowed.
Building fire code. Many municipalities prohibit charcoal or propane grills within 10 to 15 feet of a multi-unit building. A balcony attached to the building may not meet this distance requirement. Local fire codes override lease permissions.
Neighbor proximity. Smoke and cooking odors from your balcony enter neighboring apartments through windows and vents. During a stressful outage, this can cause real conflict.
Wind. Upper-floor balconies are exposed. Wind makes camp stove flames unpredictable and can blow hot grease or embers. Cook only in calm conditions.

If your building and lease permit it

A small single-burner camp stove (propane or butane) on a stable surface on the balcony works. Keep the flame away from the building wall, railing, and any overhead structure. Never leave it unattended. Bring the fuel canister inside after use. Do not store propane canisters in your apartment in hot weather; the pressure relief valve can vent gas. A small butane stove is often a better fit than propane for balcony use because the canisters are smaller and the flame is more controlled.

Food safety

The clock starts when the power goes out.

Knowing what to cook matters less than knowing what is safe to eat. The USDA provides clear timelines for food safety during a power outage. These are not suggestions.

USDA food safety timelines

Refrigerator: 4 hours

A closed refrigerator keeps food safe for up to 4 hours. Do not open the door to check. Every opening lets cold air escape and shortens the window. After 4 hours, discard any perishable food (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, leftovers, soft cheeses, milk, cut fruits) that has risen above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep an appliance thermometer in your refrigerator so you can check the temperature when power returns.

Freezer: 24-48 hours

A full freezer holds safe temperatures for approximately 48 hours. A half-full freezer holds for approximately 24 hours. Keep the door closed. Food that still contains ice crystals or is at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below when power returns can be safely refrozen, though quality may suffer.

The discard rule

Discard any perishable food that has been above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 hours or more. Never taste food to determine whether it is safe. Bacteria that cause foodborne illness do not change the food's appearance, smell, or taste. When in doubt, throw it out.

Source: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, "Keep Your Food Safe During Emergencies" (fsis.usda.gov); FDA, "Food and Water Safety During Power Outages and Floods" (fda.gov). Accessed August 2026.

Eat in the right order

1st

Perishables from the refrigerator (within 4 hours). Cook and eat anything that will spoil first: leftovers, deli meat, opened dairy, cut produce. If you have a way to heat food, this is the time to use it.

2nd

Freezer items (as they thaw). Raw meat that thaws can be cooked and eaten. Do not refreeze thawed raw meat unless it still contains ice crystals. Frozen bread, fruit, and vegetables are safe to eat as they thaw.

3rd

Pantry and shelf-stable foods. This is your long-duration supply. Canned goods, dry pasta, rice, peanut butter, crackers, and other non-perishable items. These are safe indefinitely as long as the packaging is intact.

Planning ahead

The apartment food outage kit.

You do not need special equipment. You need food that does not require power, a way to heat water if you want warm meals, and a plan for what to eat first when the refrigerator starts warming up.

The minimum

3 days of no-cook food per person. Peanut butter, crackers, canned protein, canned fruit, trail mix, granola bars. Rotate every 6-12 months.
Manual can opener. Not electric. Test it before you need it. Replace if it is dull or corroded.
Disposable plates, cups, and utensils. Without power, you may have no hot water for washing dishes. A small supply of disposables avoids a sanitation problem during a multi-day outage.
Appliance thermometer in the refrigerator. Under $5. Tells you the actual temperature when power returns so you can decide what to keep and what to discard.
Battery-operated CO detector. Required in most jurisdictions, but verify yours has working batteries. Replace batteries at daylight saving time changes.

If you want warm meals

Electric kettle (1,000W or less) plus a power station that can support it. The most versatile single cooking appliance for an outage.
Instant foods: oatmeal packets, ramen, instant soup, freeze-dried meals, instant coffee, tea. All require only hot water.
Long-reach lighter or fireplace matches if you have a gas stovetop (for manual ignition).
3-4 cans of indoor-rated chafing fuel and a folding Sterno stove if you do not have a power station. The budget option for food warming.