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You place a frying pan containing grease on your stove in preparation to saute meats or vegetables. As it begins to warm your smartphone beeps with an incoming text message. You turn your back on the stove to see who the text is from. A couple of minutes later you turn back to the stove and find that the contents of the frying pan is on fire and burning rather briskly. Thick black smoke is rapidly filling your kitchen. How should you attempt to put out a grease fire?
Cooking fires caused by grease are the leading cause of the majority of home fires in the United States each year and lead to almost $900 million dollars in damage to homes. Fires involving grease are one of the most dangerous fires that can happen in a home because they start fast and spread easily, especially if someone attempts to extinguish the fire in the wrong way.
What NOT to Do In an Attempt to Put Out a Grease Fire
Rule #1, the most important rule, is to never, never, NEVER attempt to put out a grease fire by using water. All the water will do is splash the flaming grease to other surfaces, spreading the fire.
You may consider throwing a wet towel over the fire. Again this will not work. You have just given the fire something else to burn and the water in the towel will help spread the fire even further.
Forget trying to move the pan off of the stove. You could possibly drop the pan onto the floor or countertop, spilling the flaming grease. Now you have burning grease spread around the area, and maybe on you too!
Before you grab that fire extinguisher that you keep for just this kind of emergency, make sure that it is not water based. Many fire extinguishers are and the result of using one could be an utter disaster. Using a pot of water is bad enough, but think about what would happen if you used pressurized water. The flames would shoot to the ceiling.
What To DO to Put Out a Grease Fire
Start by calling 911. Even if you think you can put the fire out on your own, it is important to get professional help started your way, just in case.
If possible, cover the pan with a large metal lid. If you can deprive the fire of oxygen it will go out on its own. Don’t use a glass lid; it could shatter due to the extreme heat from the fire. If the fire does go out, leave the lid in place until the pan cools sufficiently. Peeking in to inspect the damage too soon could provide a new oxygen supply and allow the fire to ignite again.
Another option is to douse the fire with salt, or even better, baking soda. Don’t worry about making a mess, pile it on. The damage caused by a fire is much worse than cleaning up a pile of salt or baking soda. When attempting to smother a grease fire, don’t use flour or baking powder. Either one could explode in the flames instead of smothering it.
It may seem obvious, but the next thing you should do is to turn off the heat source. Whether you have a gas stove or an electric one, in the “heat” of the moment you may not think about doing this.
If you have a Class B fire extinguisher you can aim it at the base of the fire to put the fire out. (When buying a fire extinguisher, buy one that is ABC rated. An ABC fire extinguisher can be used every type of fire – wood, grease, electrical, or paper.) The chemicals will complicate cleanup afterwards, but cleaning up is better than completely burning the house down.
Get Expert Help After a Fire
Smoke and fire odors are hard to get rid of. You need the assistance of a fire restoration specialist like Water Mold Fire Restoration. You may not know this, but smoke is highly acidic and if not removed quickly and completely, can continue to damage your home and your possessions after the fire is out. Our teams of highly trained emergency fire experts can stop further damage from taking place. There is a right way and a wrong way of cleaning up after a home fire. If done wrong, further, more permanent damage can happen. Our fire restoration experts are available 24/7. Contact us at 800-905-0277, or email us at help@watermoldfire.net.
