How do you put out a grease fire?

Question

I recently had a grease fire (the pan caught on fire from a little fat that spilled over the skillet - is there a safe, quick way to put out a fire like this?

Answer 1

Steps to put out a grease fire

1. Turn off source of heat (burner / element)
2. Do NOT pour water on it
3. let me say that again, Do NOT pour water on it
4. Attempt to remove all oxygen from the flame. You can cover with another pot, or baking pan
5. If you can't cover it, dump baking soda on it. (lots of it)
6. Secret step number 6, if all else fails, use a fire extinguisher

Answer 2

I had a grease fire years ago (my first electric stove; I kept turning down the wrong burner... long story.) I dumped most of a box of baking soda on it with no visible effect; my wife ran in and hit it with a Halon fire extinguisher (which merely spread the grease and fire against the wall behind the stove!) I finally managed to get through to the 911 dispatcher, and he told me to dump salt on it. I did - about a cup - and it killed the fire almost instantly.

Baking soda puts out fires by releasing carbon dioxide and smothering the fire - but if your fire is burning violently enough, the convection created by the fire pulls in enough oxygen to offset the smothering effect. (It could work if you had a bucket of baking soda, but a little refrigerator-size box won't cut it, as I learned by sad experience.) Salt, on the other hand, apparently is a great absorber of heat for its volume - it sucks so much heat out of the grease that it simply can't support combustion anymore.

Bottom line:

• Never, ever use a pressurized fire extinguisher on a grease fire.
• Baking soda is probably not going to do the trick.
• Salt is your friend.

Edit: I didn't even mention water - as numerous other commentators have mentioned, water on a grease fire is the last thing you want to do. I didn't mention it because, at the time of the fire, water never even crossed my mind: we had a firefighting demonstration one memorable day in school, and it stuck with me. The fire extinguisher actually making things much worse, however, came as a shock to us, as did the uselessness of (small quantities of) baking soda.

It's been twenty-some years, and I've never had a kitchen fire since (knock on wood!), but I still make sure to have a box of salt within reach whenever I fry anything.

Answer 3

Daniel is right. Suffocate the fire. DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT attempt to pour water on it. The water will superheat and create a huge fireball of vaporized grease and steam. People have been seriously injured.

Answer 4

I like the Mythbusters version of why you shouldn't do this better. (First 20 seconds of the video, for scary firey plume montage)

When you add water, it flashes instantly to steam and blows molten oil high into the air, where, suddenly in an O2 rich environment, it bursts into flame. Impressive, and something you never want to happen in your kitchen.

Buy yourself a high quality fire extinguisher, and learn how to turn off the electricity/gas at the source. You can try to smother it, but honestly I don't recommend it if it's anything to really worry about. Oil in a pan isn't going to burn that high. Oil accidentally knocked on the floor is going to burn your whole house.

Turn off the heat source, and wait until the flames subside. Do not move the pan. Do not put anything on or near it that may burn. Do not do anything that might splash oil out of the pan. When the oil is hot enough to burn, you don't want it out of the pan under ANY circumstances...It will IMMEDIATELY burst into flame.

Answer 5

Smother with lid, fire blanket or wet (wet you plonker!) cloth. (Lots of other good answers on that here.) Then, yes, use the extinguisher.

On the extinguisher front;

yes you can use an extinguisher, but be careful. There are different kinds. Ideally check that the one in your kitchen (or the one you're likely to use) is the right kind before any kind of fire.

a) Water extinguisher. Fortunately there aren't too many of these around now. Should NEVER be used in a kitchen. Between grease fires and electrical fires it's almost universally the wrong one.

b) CO2 - (High pressure carbon dioxide). These are the most common you'll find, and recognizable by the big "horn" dispenser. They work by removing oxygen but can disperse quite quickly. They are also under pressure, so don't get too close to the pan. You don't want to "blow" the oil out of the pan. The big plus with this type is that the CO2 evaporates (it makes a kind of CO2 snow) so there's very little damage done (other than the fire itself). Useless outdoors, or in highly ventilated environments. CO2 is great for really small indoor fires before they get out control. The "snow" coming out the extinguisher is cold (think dry ice) and some stuff (especially electronics) doesn't like the extreme cold, but on balance it's the best indoor extinguisher. But be careful when spaying it at burning liquid.)

c) Dry-Powder. (The powder itself is usually bicarb). This works by removing the oxygen, by smothering the fire. It's good for outdoors, and works on pretty much any kind of (small) fire. It doesn't evaporate, and it's effective against kitchen fires and electrical fires. However it does make a mess. A 9kg extinguisher (typical size) contains 9kg of bicarb. While these extinguishers have a "trigger nozzle", they are notoriously leaky, so once started most of the 9kg is gonna come out. Also these need regular (yearly) servicing to prevent the contents from caking and rendering it useless. It comes out under pressure, but not as much as CO2, and it's not as "violent".

Just for interest sake, Halon and BCF extinguishers were popular because they have all the benefits of CO2, but aren't "cold" so they're a lot kinder to electronics. They're also a CFC, so went out of fashion. And are brutally expensive compared to CO2. Unless saving the electronics is critical like say on a nuclear submarine, they're overkill for a home or office environment.

In a home situation I would recommend CO2 for most rooms, plus Dry-Powder for the kitchen.

Most importantly - if you use an extinguisher, remove the heat source as well. In the case of CO2 if the fuel is still hot, then it can reignite when the CO2 dissipates.

Lastly - after any extinguisher has been used - even for just a squirt - it must be replaced. Water and Dry Powder are "one use" types, even with a trigger, and while control on a CO2 one is much better it must, must, must be replaced (recharged) with a full one.

Answer 6

Do not use water.

You have to suffocate it. Turn off the burner (obviously), Find a tight fitting pan lid and put it over the flame tightly. If it's on the stove and not in a pan, you can still use a pan lid to suffocate it, you just might have to get a little creative about how you cover it. A pan, wok or any sturdy, non-flammable cover would work as well. Anything that can cut off their air supply.

Fire extinguishers will work as well if it's too big to fit under a pan lid, pan or other handy cover. If you don't have a fire extinguisher and it's that big... call 911 (or your location's equivalent), you're in trouble.

Answer 7

when i had a fire like this i turned off the heat then pour salt over it. it sounds crazy but it worked.

Answer 8

1. Smother the fire with a fire blanket (or any sheet of fire retardant material)
2. Turn off power supply / gas
3. Leave the blanket in place and call help if necessary