How Do You Put Out a Grease Fire?

9/22/2020 (Permalink)

A grease fire can quickly consume and devastate your kitchen if left unchecked

Kitchen and other cooking related infernos are the number one cause of residential fires in the United States. Most of these fires are ignited by grease. Because these incidents are so common, it's important that you learn how to put out a grease fire. Follow the checklist below if your kitchen in Denver, CO, falls victim to a kitchen fire.

Putting Out Grease Fires

Knowing how to respond to these types of incidents quickly and effectively could potentially save you from succumbing to disaster. To put out a kitchen fire:

• Prevent the fire from spreading further by covering it with a metal pan, pot lid or baking sheet.
  
• Turn off the cooktop, or whichever other heat source is supplying the fire.
  
• If the fire is small, extinguish it by pouring salt or baking soda over the flames.
  
• Use a fire extinguisher as a last resort if the flames are too difficult to control.
  
  

Your first instinct might be to pour water over the grease fire, but this won't help remediate the situation. You should also never attempt to move the pot or pan that the fire originated from. Doing so can potentially spread the fire or cause painful blisters and burns.

Preventing Cooking Fires
Taking the correct preventative steps can help save you the trouble of having to deal with grease fires and fire cleanup. While your cooktop is active, you need to remain in the room and always keep a careful eye on it. The flames may seem small and manageable, but fire has a tendency to spread quickly. It's also important that you keep combustible objects as far away from your cooktop as possible.
A grease fire can quickly consume and devastate your kitchen if left unchecked. Following fire safety protocol can help prevent kitchen fires. If one does break out, however, utilize the steps in the above checklist to safely extinguish the flames. If you find that you cannot contain the fire, you need to immediately evacuate the house and contact fire remediation experts.