Grease Fire Extinguisher For The Kitchen

Fire Extinguisher for Kitchen Fire

 

Grease Fire Extinguisher

A kitchen grease fire extinguisher needs to be at least (Class B).
Most typical fire extinguishers today are rated ABC, so those are fine.

The following grease fire extinguisher is:
– light weight
– aerosol spray
– easy to handle

First Alert Fire Extinguishing Aerosol Spray
Grease Fire Extinguisher

 
This larger ABC fire extinguisher is the classic and most popular on the market. If you don’t already have a fire extinguisher near your kitchen, I highly suggest that you get one!

Kidde FA110 Multi Purpose Fire Extinguisher

Kitchen fires are most often started by a grease fire.

A grease fire is typically caused by excessive splash over of oil onto the heat source.

If this happens in your kitchen, either on your stove top or in your oven, do you know what to do?

How To Put Out A Grease Fire

Also, oils have a “smoke point” and they have a “flash point”.

As you heat a given type of oil, it will eventually begin to give off some smoke when it gets too hot. This is the smoke point. As it continues to heat, there is point at which it will catch on fire (flash point).

If your cooking oil reaches the smoke point, it doesn’t take too much more heat to go from smoke to little flames dancing on the surface of the oil – to becoming fully engulfed in flames and fire. Once this happens, the fire is self-sustaining.

 
Fire needs heat, oxygen and fuel to sustain itself. The oil is the fuel, and the oil had sufficient heat to catch fire. That leaves oxygen feeding the fire.

We must remove the oxygen to put out the fire.

Read on…

 

Stove Top Fire

Don’t panic.

Shut off the stove burner. If you see tiny flames (or worse) coming from the oil, no matter what type of stove you have (electric or gas) immediately shut off the heat source.

The burner and the pan takes time to cool, so this isn’t enough to quickly extinguish the flame. If you’re able (small fire), slide the pan over to a cool burner (electric burners retain heat for awhile).

To put out the flame, you need to remove the oxygen source. Simply put a lid on the pan and the fire will choke itself out of oxygen. Note that a glass lid might shatter from the intense heat. A cookie sheet will work too. Do not remove the lid (which will only reintroduce oxygen).

Let it sit for hours until it’s cool.

More: Use A Fire Blanket To Put Out A Grease Fire

 

Oven Fire

Don’t panic.

Shut off the oven. If oil and grease has spattered to the bottom of the oven and caught fire (perhaps more susceptible in a gas oven), you can smother the fire with baking soda. But be aware that you might need quite a bit.

You might keep a big tub of baking soda in the front of a cabinet, so it’s readily accessible.

 

NEVER Use Water On A Grease Or Oil Fire!

Water will spread the fire and cause a rapid explosion of intensity.

 
YOU DO HAVE A SMOKE ALARM, RIGHT?

More: Dual Sensor Smoke Alarm, and Why They Are The Best
More: Caution: Smoke Detectors Have A Shelf Life

37 Comments

  1. Got 2 Kiddie ABCs and a big box of Arm + Hammer in the kitchen. Never had a fire and never want one! I also have an old school “pump to pressurize” style in the garage for around the fire pit. We are allowed to burn some yard waste, but it must be in line of sight of a person who lives at/owns the property.

  2. Got another fire I’d like to talk about. Microwave. Last night we were going to nuke a package of popcorn. Put it in the microwave, set the time, turned it on, and started to walk away. I heard a pop right away and thought it was the popcorn. Then I heard a strange hum and realized popcorn doesn’t start to pop as soon as you turn it on. I went back, looked through the window, and saw this wild fireball and sparks in there. WOW! Shut it off right away and unplugged it. Believe me, it really stinks. I could still smell it this morning. One side of it was pretty well charred. I can only imagine what it would have been like if I wouldn’t have come back. So, keep an ear, if not an eye, on your microwave when you use it.

    1. BigBadCat-that smell is the worse! A few years ago we were at out of state at a hotel and were evacuated because someone in the next room caught a bag of popcorn on fire in their room-caught the whole kitchenette area on fire! No one was hurt and we were able to go back to our rooms within a couple hours, but that smell followed us for days after-we were there for a wedding and I’ll never forget sitting at the ceremony in our dress clothes, smelling like burnt popcorn lol.

  3. I keep one fire extinguisher in the kitchen, bed room and the living room. I also have 3 in the garage and one in the back of my truck. Don’t forget to check the gauge and make sure they are still in working order and get them recharged if not.

  4. AHhhh, I seem to have the mindset that trying to put out a grease fire in a Frying Pan or Baking Pan with a Fire-Ex. Tis may not be the best first line of defense, unless you have other ‘stuff’ on fire aka the Cabinets or other Kitchen stuff/House.

    First, VERY FIRST, call for help, inform the others in the area of the fire by yelling and getting their attention, get people out of the House.

    Ken’s suggestion of a Lid or a box of Soda is the first thing to try, but, do not waste a LOT of time retrying this over and over again. If this does not work on the first try, call 911, get the trucks rolling, do NOT try to be the hero.

    Very Important…… If you hit a pan of burning grease with a direct stream from a Fire Extinguisher you will blow that burning grease all over the place, causing a bigger fireball, If the Pan of burning grease is a danger to ignite other ‘stuff’, start using the Fire-Ex pointed slightly away from the pan, than slowly ‘cloud’ or ‘fog’ the fire with the chemical, DO NOT POINT DIRECTLY AT THE FIRE AND PULL THE TRIGGER.

    Something to remember, Hundreds of Thousands of House fires destroy homes every year, do NOT become a victim if your house is burning, Get the family OUT FIRST, do NOT go back in to save Grandma’s sewing kit. Stuff is Stuff, Dead is Dead. Don’t become dead, it’s fairly permanent.

    I would greatly suggest visiting your local Fire Dept. and get some FREE training, I know quite a few of Fire-Boys&Girls around my place, every one of them has nightmares of people that “went back in for this or that”, DON’T!!!!

    Just my 4¢ worth.

    One last thing to think on, Breathing, if/when you use a Fire Ext. to put out a fire it removes the Oxygen from the air, the same Air your trying to breath…….

    1. Now you’re charging 4¢? You’re getting expensive.

      All good advice though!

    1. Mrs. USMCBG

      “Candles” was the info I got from My Fire-Dept.
      But Dryer fires may be correct, Clean the Lint Screen people.

      1. @NRP…. Also remove the flex pipe exhaust and rod it out with a flexible pole. If possible set a shop vac at the port outside to suck all the lint out of the pipe as you rod it. You would be amazed at home much can blow by the lint trap. These fires usually start from the heat combined with a static discharge that lites it up.

        1. This too.!!! I try to clean dryer piping and hoses too 2x a year. My experiences those dryer softner sheets accelerate and compound unwanted lint collection process in the dryer and pipes. We’ve stopped using sheets.

      2. That was a few years back. Candles might be the #1 now. Yes I go outside once a year and clean the exterior vent of the dryer. I also have a small long brush made especially for dryers that I use on the inside. Just the other day I was smelling an odd burn type smell when the dryer was running. Cleaned it and now it is gone. Course one day Mr. and I went to store, came back and A CANDLE was still burning. NOT a GOOD feeling!!!

  5. I am of the camp to keep a small A-B-C fire extinguisher within the home in addition to baking soda to throw on fire by hand while it is small. I have not had to use it in my own kitchen at home as my intake of fried food is minimal these days. ( trying to reduce the size of my belly.)

    Location of said extinguisher: inside front door of pantry close to kitchen. Far enough away to be able to reach in event of bigger fire yet close enough to get to quickly enough. Remember to periodically turn the extinguisher over and tamp the bottom edge against a wall or use a rubber mallet. ( the contents within an A-B-C extinguisher is compressed CO2 and sodium bicarbonate.)

    I will stay and try to put out the fire for a bit and it usually worked. I got experience by dating a lady who was …a lousy cook. ( no delicate way to put it and mentioning that gets my wife fired up.)

    With the football season and the holidays coming up, be careful with those turkey friers in-the-carport.

    1. some abc extinguishers may be charged by co2 but no co2 extinguisher is abc rated and extinguishers containing baking soda are not UL rated for class a fires I think you should research that good luck!!!

  6. Because of our pellet stove in the living room, which is next room over from the kitchen, we have several small extinguishers on hand. Hope we never have to use one!

  7. We have several fire extinguishers in the house along with several cans of Tundra. If you have never seen Tundra, it is a relatively small aerosol can of fire extinguishing material, and it works great. Had to use one in the kitchen one day, and it did its job well. They are so much easier to stick under the cabinet or on the window sill for easy access. I recommend you take a look at them. We ordered ours off of amazon (of course). :)

    1. lac
      Thank you for this information, I have it in my ‘to purchase’ list.

  8. kitchen fire is what I worry about most. I have a fire extinguisher right there, but I also have A gianormous package of baking soda handy. Now they come in 23 lb boxes at Sam’s for less than $7. That is good insurance to me. I have put out a grease fire before at family member’s home using the lid of the pan and shut off the heat, and then had to yell at the person not to touch the pan. Moving it when they are excited risks splashing that stuff everywhere – even on them. I would not advocate moving it. I do like excessive amounts of baking soda on hand for just in case so several packages are stored just for this purpose.

  9. Happened just this morning! After drying my hair, I turned off the blow dryer and put it on the bathroom counter. I was getting dressed and heard my hair dryer come ON. I know the dang thing was off! Maybe the switch was in-between settings or something, I don’t know… Anyway… if I had gone to work and left it plugged in, it probably would have started a fire. The thing is definitely unplugged now and in the trash!

    I make sure everything is off and everything I can unplug is unplugged before I leave the house. I’m just glad this happened when I was near the bathroom and heard it come on!

    Also, we keep several extinguishers in the house and the vehicles. I like to keep one near the outside doors. That way we’re on the way out before fighting a fire. I’ve never had a kitchen or house fire but don’t want to jinx myself. This is Friday the 13th after all. Beach’n

    1. Wow, that’s a great example you just gave us. With all the cheap crap being manufactured these days it doesn’t surprise me too much.

      Good advice though… LEAVE IT UNPLUGGED!

      That may very well have turned into a fire.

  10. Fire is one thing that really scares.
    We have a story in our family history about my grandfather being orphaned young. Apparently, his father died when he was about 2 (wagon rollover). Then, he and his mother were taken in by another family (who owned a dairy farm?). She was the cook. According to the story, she died in a kitchen fire only a few years later and my grandfather was raised by that same family until he was old enough to falsify his age and enlist in the army for the Spanish American War.
    Although I’ve been unable to confirm the story, despite combing area newspapers at the time, it’s been passed down to every generation since, and was part of the reason my only memory when growing up having an electric stove and heat.
    When I moved into my first apartment, which had only gas for cooking and heating, it was more than a bit disconcerting.
    I have a large Kidde fire extinguisher in my kitchen (and other areas), along with one of the small bottles of Tundra aerosol.
    Better safe than sorry!

  11. I have had a couple close calls with fire but was always able to get it under control. Terrifying. Today have a 2 extinguishers in kitchen, 1 in bedroom, 2 in garage and one in each car. Also have 2 in motor home. Over kill perhaps but they aren’t that expensive and fires can be devastating.

  12. The year before last I was in the bathroom and the rest of the family getting ready elsewhere in the home to leave. When I was getting ready I could smell smoke, came into the living area and could see smoke. I asked DH if he could smell and see that he said no. I took him into the bathroom and yes he smelt it. After investigating we found out the central air and heat caught on fire and the outside unit was right by bathroom window. We put the fire out and pulled the unit out of the house. We was very happy that we was home. Although we had to replace some things in the mud room but we still had a house.
    We need fire extinguishers, we have none. Not sure why, never really thought of it I guess. Maybe some new fire detectors are in order also because even though I replace batteries and test them every 6 months none went off when the AC and heat furnace caught on fire.
    Thanks for the reminder!!!

  13. When using a fire extinguisher, remember the acronym PASS.

    Pull the pin.

    Aim at the base of the fire, not the top or middle of the flames, from 8 feet away. If you need to be closer than 8 feet, start as far away as possible. The force of and extinguisher can blow out the flames, only for them to return as soon as the extinguisher is turned away.

    Squeeze the trigger.

    Sweep from side to side and slowly get closer.

    It’s a good idea to practice this, then recharge it. Practice with a campfire.

    Get your extinguishers inspected by the fire department once per year. Check the gage and make sure it’s in the green once every month. Keep a log of your inspections.

    In my experience, flour works better than baking soda. I’ve worked in plenty of kitchens where there’s been a bucket of flour on the line, dedicated for grease fires. I have experienced several. Had success with flour twice. Once had to use an extinguisher. Never had to pull the Ansul order call 911.

    The most important thing is to keep calm and deal with it.

    1. flour can explode an is unsafe for use on fire extinguisher designed primairly for kitchen use will contain either baking soda or purple k or when chemical

  14. I saw a video that showed it was better to slide a lid at a horizontal angle of attack to extinguish a stove top fire, rather than putting the lid down on the fire.

    On lighter side:
    When cooking the turkey for Christmas dinner when I was 14 or so, the oven caught fire. We extracted the turkey, but just all stood staring at the burning oven debating whether it was baking soda or baking powder to put on a fire. “Just throw on both!!!!!” was my suggestion. The fire extinguished. The oven still worked, so we put the turkey back in and ate Christmas dinner an hour behind schedule.

    1. baking powder I think contains flour which should not be used as fire suppressant extinguisher rated for kitchen use ususally contain baking soda !!!

  15. One way to immediately defuse a burning fry pan situation is to pop it into the oven and close the door. That will give you time to sort out your next move.

    1. it is considered dangerous to attempt to move a pan of burning grease I wonder how many people in this forum have actually taken alot of time to make sure the information they provide is accuarate I am former fire equipment distributor and have done alot of research on fire extinguisher I no longer sell fire equipement and am not employed by the fire protection industry I will say i probably know more than people who are selling units at at a hardware store

  16. Also an excellent self defense weapon besides the fire protection! Avoid the Kidde, the ones I’ve seen are imported, many name brands on Amazon or in stores are USA made. Wanna good Prep?
    LOOK where things are made and support OUR economy!

  17. I know we’re talkin about wood heat today. Everybody should have a few fire extinguishers. I bought a couple 15 or 20 years ago. I stuck one under the bar where I cold see it. I have a lotta “stuff”, I can more often than not find most of my “stuff’ until the boss lady “organizes” it. She is really good at organizin. Sometimes she ain’t all that good at rememberin the final destination, expecially if it’s my “stuff”. Couple times I happened to notice that fire extinguisher had been “organized” to another spot. I finally was able to have it remain where I put it. It took a considerable dose of resolutin that conflict before I was able to have that extinguisher remain in it’s place.

    Anyway, 5 yrs or so later, I had broken the vertical exhaust pipe on one of my ole tractors, backed it out of the barn one saturday mornin, welded the pipe. I finished and noticed there was still a little too much smoke. I had to really look hard, there was a mouse nest under the dash against the fuel tank that was on fire. We all know how everything gets that film of diesel fuel on it. I couldn’t get to it to do anything about, fire was gettin bigger fast. I ran to the house and was thrilled to find that fire extinguisher still where I had it programmed to be. If I would have had to look for it, I would have lost my tractor and my barn. That day I bought a couple more and put 1 on each end of the barn. I learned a valuable lesson. There is still one under the bar,

    1. Good example. Always know where your fire extinguisher is stashed! And keep at least one in the barn…

  18. When at yard/estate sales, I’m always on the lookout for the old Halon fire extinguishers. The sale of these for home use has been outlawed for quite some time, as they purportedly blow holes in the ozone layer. They still show up at the aforementioned sales though. As long as the gauge shows good, or the non-gauge one feels “full,” they’re good to go. They don’t “pack out” like drychems. Halon will put out B and C fires without making the HUGE mess dry chemical extinguishers make. They’ll also slow down a class A fire enough to finish it off with water.

    1. shame on you for trying to damage the environment they were banned because they contained a cfc fire suppressant

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