Kitchen on Fire

[The 13th Warrior]

Have you seen this?

I have heard of something like this, but did not how serious it could get.

wow.

YouTube - Kitchen Oil Fire from Haydar Azzouz

[Patrician]

woo. thanks for the warning on what not to do.

[solardave]

I almost burned down my neighbors house when I was a kid doing just what they showed.(throwing water on it) I learned back then to put a lid over the pot. I never saw the one using a wet rag though.

[BigCashDetective]

aren't you supposed to put those out with baking soda or something?

[Patrician]

I think baking soda might be for electrical fires where obviously water wouldn't mix too well.

Not sure about kitchen/stove fires.

Glad I have a fire extinguisher, smoke alarm and sprinklers in every room...

[Dennis Gaskill]

Originally Posted by BigCashDetective

aren't you supposed to put those out with baking soda or something?

No, don't do anything that could cause burning oil to splash or spread. They showed you the proper way to handle this type of fire in the video. Covering the pot as shown takes away enough of the oxygen that the fire dies out. The water on the dish towel prevents the dish towel from catching on fire and helps seal out the oxygen, but ring out the excess water before covering the pot.

Originally Posted by tisanjosh

Fire in the kitchen is a compilation recorded by The Chieftains, in collaboration with some Canadian folk musical guests.

Originally Posted by mystereo

Leaders, who were on tour in Canada that year, was not originally intended to release the album, but surprisingly ended up saving lives several informal sessions with guest musicians.

Cool! Next time you might try posting something related to the thread topic though. Somehow it seems to work out better for everyone.

[HeySal]

Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill

Cool! Next time you might try posting something related to the thread topic though. Somehow it seems to work out better for everyone.

I don't think the guys that are paying this dude to post are watching what he's doing very well.

[paintingsgalore22]

Thanks for the warning. . .

[Jun Balona]

Originally Posted by tisanjosh

Fire in the kitchen is a compilation recorded by The Chieftains, in collaboration with some Canadian folk musical guests.

Originally Posted by mystereo

Leaders, who were on tour in Canada that year, was not originally intended to release the album, but surprisingly ended up saving lives several informal sessions with guest musicians.

Just because this is the Off Topic Forum doesn't mean that you two could post something off the topic, right?

[BloggingPro]

Try a grease far. Put water on that... I guarantee it'll be the last time you do. Salt puts out grease fire's easy (which may or may not be off topic here).

That said, these videos on how fast a fire can spread are exactly why my wallet, car keys and external hard drive are within reaching distance as I get out of my bed. As a matter of fact, everything on my computer is actually saved on the external (with shortcuts to each directory as needed).

Thus in a fire, my wallet, keys and livelihood are 1, 2, 3 as I bail out me window! I've thought about including a bottle of tequila in the mix, but don't want my neighbors to judge!

[HeySal]

Originally Posted by The 13th Warrior

Have you seen this?

I have heard of something like this, but did not how serious it could get.

wow.

Serious? Um....it's fire, guy. You can level your whole house if you don't catch it in time. Fire is always serious stuff.

[PromoDirect]

A slight carelessness can make you suffer for a lifetime. Pay extra care with objects that can turn out to be harmful in no time.

[taskemann]

Why not just use a Co2 fire extinguisher?

[albertosm]

we always have a fire-extinguisher in the kitchen, just in case

[Kay King]

One word: LID

Cut off the oxygen supply - wet cloth sort of does the same.

I have problems with fire extinguishers and flashlights. They are never where I think they should be - and when I find them they usually need charged.

I have a universal lid kept in a cabinet just to the left of the cooktop. It is designed to be a good fit for any size pan or skillet. In a real, time crunch crisis....simple is good...LID....

[Dennis Gaskill]

Originally Posted by taskemann

Why not just use a Co2 fire extinguisher?

I wouldn't recommend that on a grease fire for anyone who hasn't been properly trained in their use. There's a risk the extinguisher could blow the grease all over the place.

Originally Posted by Kay King

One word: LID

That seems obvious, but what might not be as obvious is that there's a greater risk for burning yourself. The fire often extends beyond the vertical plane of the pot. A lid, by design, fits on the pot. Thus, sometimes putting a lid on the pot would mean putting your hand or arm into the flame.

Because the dish towel is usually much wider than a pot, by holding it at the ends you don't usually have to place your skin directly over any flame (unless the fire has spread beyond the pot). The lid also requires more precision to place it on the pot, which can be a problem for folks in a panic.

You've seen how professional firefighters teach putting out a grease fire in that video, and there are reasons for doing it that way. Please, for your own sake, don't assume you know more than the professionals.

PS - I am not a professional fireman, but I have been trained in firefighting and served on fire fighting teams in the Navy and in civilian life, so I do know a little about it.

[HeySal]

Gee Dennis - does that mean no shoveling dirt on top of it? And I thought I had it all downpat.

[Dennis Gaskill]

Originally Posted by HeySal

Gee Dennis - does that mean no shoveling dirt on top of it? And I thought I had it all downpat.

Splish splash splatter, I was taking grease bath...


Ah, Bobby Darin would be proud of that paraphrase.

[g4r3th]

Safety first, buy a fire blanket and fit smoke alarms, stay safe.

[Daniel Evans]

Well it is a staged, worst case scenario so I would take it with a pinch of salt....and pepper, rosemary, garlic and basil depending on what was cooking.

I think the burns injury was real enough though so the warning works. I've had some nasty run-in's with hot oil and water combos. I managed to decorate my newly painted kitchen walls with smouldering olive oil a few months back whilst carelessley making French Toast.

mmmm... French Toast.

[dagaul101]

It's always a great idea to have a fire extinguisher or fire cloth in your kitchen, to prevent these occurences

[seasoned]

WOW, I think my school may have had someone talk about this when I was like SIX! Oil and water don't mix, so adding water, ESPECIALLY cold water can effectively aerosolize the oil so it seems to act like a GAS, giving the flareup you saw. ANY cook should understand all that! Heck, put a little water onto a hot pan, and what happens? The water almost does a dance, and lets off water vapor, Imagine i it were a lot more water added to a pan full of oil. Frankly, I don't like it if een one droplet of hot oil touches my skin, and ONE drop of lukewarm water can do that.

As for THIS demo? For the past couple decades at least, every now and then, the news, in the US, often runs a clip about a testing/training facility firemen have, and show what can occur from certain things like this. The three basic ones are:

1. electrical(DON'T use fraid cords! DON'T unplug wwithout holding the plug. DON'T put too many objects on one circuit. DON'T try to repair a cord if you don't know what you are doing. REMEMBER a chain is as strong as it weakest link, or usng a 5A extension cord on a 100A circuit only allows you 5W on that cord or past it.)
2. smoking(***********DON'T SMOKE*********!!!! OK, OK, THEY say the PC thing of don't smoke in bed, or leave it unattended, but MY rule is ***********DON'T SMOKE*********!!!!)!!!
3. DON'T try to put out fires with things not rated for them!!!!!! YES, they often use the water in the pan example, but it IS the SAME THING! Fire extinguishers are rated for the fires they put out! What do the A B C ratings mean on Fire Extinguishers?

BTW I had to take a test for teradata. WHO KNOWS WHY?!?!? That included things like this. One of their DEMANDS, which is a variation on #1 above, is NEVER plug an extension cord into an extension cord. There are TWO good reasons for that! 1. The metal may have low conductivity, and lower the final rating, because of the extra length. 2. You can now PHYSICALLY plug more in which means a greater chance of pushing it past it's limit.

Steve