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Kitchen Grease Fire Prevention Video

I received this forward from my friend and fellow educator Estelle and I am posting this [almost] verbatim.

This video is pretty impressive. Well worth the time to watch it. Pass it on – you could save a life.

This video is only 34 seconds long but if you’re ever in this situation it will save your kitchen, house and most of all your life, if you follow the advice. Watch this video and learn what not to use (and what to do)to put out a grease fire. At the Charleston Navy base at the Fire Fighting Training school- they demonstrate this with a deep fat fryer set on the fire field. An instructor would don a fire suit and using an 8 oz cup at the end of a 10 foot pole toss water onto the grease fire. The results got the attention of the students.

The water, being heavier than the oil, sinks to the bottom where it instantly becomes superheated. The explosive force of the steam blows the burning oil up and out. On the open field, it became a thirty foot high fireball that resembles a nuclear blast. Inside the confines of a kitchen, the fire ball hits the ceiling and fills the entire room.

Also do not throw sugar or flour on a grease fire. One cup creates the explosive force of two sticks of dynamite.

No Comments

  1. Robin says:

    Please see http://www.stovetopfirestop.com. Most grease fires in the kitchen are unattended. This product is specifically for those situations.

  2. fadingad says:

    Thank you Robin!

  3. Dexter says:

    That video was very powerful in how such a short time your life can change in such a short time from a kitchen fire. The person who at the very end of the video was very fortunate. There was still a face to examine.

    I have volunteered in the past in hospitals and know that at times it can be much worse. No one thinks about fire until it right on them.

    So often the only defense appears to be to to flee the situation. However this video was a great example that if one keep’s their composure they can turn a potentially devastating issue to one of a simple cleanup. I have been educated recently on the advances of Fire Protection Gels for home owners or renters.

    One company http://www.wildfireoptions.com has a fire gel called Fire Bloc which you can spray on your home or grounds to create a fire break of up to five days from the onset of a major fire. Much like the same issue where a fire in the kitchen can become a minor issue, Fire Bloc Fire Gel can do the same thing for your entire home. This can be applied by the home owner or the Fire Department. Hose off your home after the fire and you still have a home. However just like your video, you need to have a plan and not panic! Thanks for sharing this clip!
    Dexter

  4. Portia says:

    very informative, i will send this to all on my email list. thanks

  5. Portia says:

    very informative

  6. Lainey says:

    I was always told to use salt on a grease fire in any kitchen. Is this now not an effective solution to put it out??

  7. fadingad says:

    Taken from Kitchen Grease Fires- Safety & Prevention: You can’t put out a grease fire with water: the water will actually cause the grease fire to leap from one place to another! Keep a large, opened box of baking soda, salt or flour near the burner: either one of these substances can smother a flame. Although this is recommended, a cover is always the best. Flour, salt or baking soda still may react at high temperatures adding energy to the fire. Since depriving the fire of oxygen is the preferred method of extinguishing it, a metal cover is the least risky.