Kitchen Fire Do's and Don'ts

7/3/2018 (Permalink)

Knowledge of stop, drop, and roll is one thing, however, do you know what to do if a grease fire flares up in your home?

SERVPRO of Oldham/Shelby County reminds you to NEVER use water on grease fires, below you will read about the dos and don’ts for this type of dangerous fire.

PREVENTING A GREASE FIRE

Of course, the best safety measure that SERVPRO of Oldham/Shelby County can recommend is preventing the fire in the first place. The smoking point for vegetable oil is about 450°F, while animal fats start to go at 375°F.

Certainly, do NOT leave your range unattended when cooking with these grease bases, and consider using a cooking thermometer to keep track of the temperature. Remove your heavy cookware from heat immediately if it starts to smoke or smell as though it’s burning.

IF FIRE BREAKS OUT

If a kitchen fire does break out, you need to handle it carefully. Here’s our best advice.

DO

• Turn off your heat source. Trying to remove the pot or pan from heat will risk splashing burning oil onto yourself or anybody else around, so hold off.
• If the flames are small, baking soda can extinguish them if you pour it on liberally. Covering your cookware with a metal lid might also help, as the fire will die out once the oxygen is blocked.
• Spray the base of the flames with a class B dry chemical fire extinguisher, if things are still out of hand. Your kitchen will be contaminated by the spray, but that can be dealt with easier than the room being reduced to ashes.
• Leave the house and call 911 if you lose control of the fire. Wait to deal with the fire damage once everyone is safe.

DON’T

• Again, do not try to put the grease fire out with water. It’s more likely to cause the burning oil to splash, spreading your grease fire. Rapidly vaporizing water might also feed the fire.
• Don’t move the pot or pan, as burning fat or oil can splash about your home. The impulse to move your problem from the range to the sink or out the front door might be high, but you’re risking severe burns and plenty of damage to your home.
• Don’t try to substitute baking powder. Flour will add to the fire, as will most baking products. Baking soda is the only common kitchen substance that will give you an extinguishing reaction.

IF YOU DO EXPERIENCE A KITCHEN FIRE

When cooking takes a bad turn and flames do break out, follow the advice above to deal with the danger. Once you have the grease fire under control, contact 911 if anyone has experienced a heavy burn from the oil or fire.

Once everyone is 100% safe, you’ll want to address your kitchen.

Fire damage is an unpleasant burden in any circumstance, however SERVPRO of Oldham/Shelby County is here to restore normalcy. Whether damaged by fire or smoke, in a residential or commercial kitchen, we know how to make the best of a bad situation.

Call us today to speak to a Restoration Specialist. 502.241.6861

SERVPRO of Oldham/Shelby County also proudly serves Spencer, Henry and Trimble Counties.