Cooking is the number one cause of home fires.
A grease fire occurs when oil or greasy foods are heated and ignite. NEVER PUT WATER ON A GREASE FIRE. Water causes the grease to splatter and the fire to spread. NEVER ATTEMPT TO TAKE A GREASE FIRE OUTDOORS. The pot or pan will become too hot to carry and you may drop it, causing a major house fire.
Don't be caught unprepared when cooking in the kitchen. If you are working with grease or oil, it is important that you know what to do in the event it catches fire. Should you ever find yourself faced with a grease fire in your kitchen, follow these steps to ensure that it is extinguished quickly and safely.
- Place a metal lid over the flame. Do not use glass since the heat from the fire can cause it to break
- Smother the fire with a liberal amount of baking soda if it is relatively small and contained. Try finding a lid if possible. It requires a lot baking soda to extinguish a fire; a lid is faster and generally more effective. Do not use any other type of baking product such as flour as is may spread the flames.
- Spray the fire with a Class B dry chemical fire extinguisher. Use this method if it is your only option, because it will ruin food and contaminate kitchen dishes and utensils.
- Use a Class K wet chemical fire extinguisher if it is available. Though more effective for extinguishing large grease fires; these are generally found only in commercial settings.
Call 911 immediately if the fire is not quickly extinguished or if it grows too large to be controlled.
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