Grease Fire 101

9/27/2021 (Permalink)

Grease fires happen quickly. You may be frying some bacon or chicken and all of a sudden your kitchen is on fire. Do you know how to put out a grease fire?

There are several things that can and should be done, as long as it is safe to do them:

1. Turn off the heat source.

2. Cover the flames with a metal lid. This works for small grease fires. Fire has to have oxygen to survive and placing a lid over the flames will cut off the oxygen supply causing the flames to extinguish themselves. 

3. Pour baking soda on the flames. This only works for small fires. But a word of caution, it will take a large amount to extinguish small flames. 

4. As a last resort, or if the flames are too large for the previously mentioned methods, use a Class B Dry Chemical fire extinguisher. Use of a fire extinguisher will result in much more clean up needed, but it's better than letting a grease fire destroy your entire home. 

5. Call 9-1-1. 

NEVER, use water to try and put out a grease fire. This will cause the grease to splatter and the fire to spread. Also, do not move the pot/skillet around, as this could cause the fire to spread as well.