# In which I successfully put out a kitchen fire (long). **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 25, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582 "2009-09-25T22:01:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/21 "2009-09-29T18:18:13Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Commercial kitchens are a different matter. The extinguisher a typical householder has is either CO2 or water. Can you prove that? The average householder will buy the cheapest, smallest item that will provide a given level of service, or the cheapest, smallest item, period. The cheapest, smallest CO2 extinguisher available is a 5 pounder, costs around $100, and is rated at 5B:C. The equivalent dry chemical extinguisher is a 2 pounder costing less than $15, and one-pound extinguishers costing $10 are available. There far more of these on the market than any other kind. And water? The smallest water extinguisher I’ve heard of holds 1.5 gallons; those I can find complete information for hold 2 gallons, cost $70, weighs over 30 pounds, and are less effective than a five pound dry chemical extinguisher. Why would anyone spend extra money to burden himself with a heavy, bulky extinguisher that doesn’t do much? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/22 "2009-10-31T09:34:41Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > Can you prove that? The average householder will buy the cheapest, smallest item that will provide a given level of service, or the cheapest, smallest item, period. The cheapest, smallest CO2 extinguisher available is a 5 pounder, costs around $100, and is rated at 5B:C. Sorry; I missed this. Fire extinguishers are rather cheaper over here. £15-£25 will get you a powder or CO2 extinguisher suitable for the smallest fires. And water comes straight from the tap. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/23 "2009-10-31T14:09:10Z")
Sorry to hear about your exciting cooking experience garygnu. I’m glad everything turned out OK! My brother once bought me a fire extinguisher for a present. I vaguely remember thinking “Huh” about it and set it on the fridge. Later, when the microwave caught fire, I thought it was the best gift ever! Hot tip: When spraying a bunch of compressed white stuff into a small enclosed space like a microwave oven, suspend breathing for a few seconds so as to not inhale white stuff. You will really be surprised at how quickly that white stuff bounces out of the microwave and into your face! ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/24 "2009-10-31T22:02:53Z")
Anyone considering getting a kitchen fire extinguisher SHOULD NOT PUT IT OVER THE STOVE! If there is a fire, this area may be too hot to reach. Ours is in the pantry. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/25 "2009-10-31T22:36:50Z")
> [@trupa](#): > > Anyone considering getting a kitchen fire extinguisher SHOULD NOT PUT IT OVER THE STOVE! If there is a fire, this area may be too hot to reach. > > Ours is in the pantry. Also do not mount it where the stove is between the fire extinguisher and the exit. In the event of a fire, you don’t want to be cut off from the exit while trying to get the extinguisher. That would be… bad. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/26 "2009-10-31T23:03:36Z")
We call my wife Flamo. She puts food on (always hi) then walks away. I have had stove fires and smoke pans at least 20 times. Only once did she get the curtains to catch on fire. I had to rip them down and carry them outside. I have carried smoking or flamed pans outside a few times. We have stuff cauterized to the bottom of many pans. They are impossible to clean. She never learns. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/27 "2009-11-01T00:23:15Z")
Mythbusters just did this. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JmjSUlKoMXE/hqdefault.jpg "MythBusters - Greased Lightning - Small Scale Fire") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmjSUlKoMXE) ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/28 "2009-11-01T00:47:46Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > We call my wife Flamo. She puts food on (always hi) then walks away. I have had stove fires and smoke pans at least 20 times. Only once did she get the curtains to catch on fire. I had to rip them down and carry them outside. I have carried smoking or flamed pans outside a few times. We have stuff cauterized to the bottom of many pans. They are impossible to clean. She never learns. suggest Flamo use clip-on kitchen timers that you can take with you. pays for itself in one or a few meals. could save the house too. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/29 "2009-11-01T01:42:02Z")
This thread makes me want to get a fire extinguisher. Especially since I’m cooking more, and my friend has a distressing habit of leaving the stove on when he’s done. (I’ve formed the habit of checking up after him.) Is [this one](http://www.canadiantire.ca/storelocator/store_locator.jsp?CTC_INPUT_POSTAL%3C%3Estore_no=0171&CTC_INPUT_POSTAL%3C%3Epostal_code=M9B1B1&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443287969&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672825&bmForm=form_make_my_ctc_store&bmFormID=1257039378363&bmUID=1257039378363&bmHash=68d75526582d0e4e6679d070debbef82f8311aed) good? It’s descriobed as a ‘kitchen fire extinguisher’. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/30 "2009-11-01T04:08:54Z")
Baking Soda is your friend. I remember making a “Kitchen Fire Extinguisher” in Kindergarten: [ol] [li]Take one large coffee can[/li][li]Fill with baking soda[/li][li]Wrap the coffee can with construction paper onto which pleasing crayon drawings have been made[/li][/ol] It works like a charm for grease/oil fires in the kitchen, and yes we used my kindergarten one one day when my dad got a little “exuberent” in frying bacon. Baking soda is dirt cheap, it won’t burn, and the mess usually isn’t too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/31 "2009-11-01T05:51:27Z")
I’m glad everything worked out, and hope those burns have healed nicely by now. I’m curious though: What was the “wrong oil?” I’ve cooked with the usuals, even on high (though I never use high anymore – bad for teflon), but have never started a fire with them. Are certain oils more prone to combusting when you’re not looking? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/32 "2009-11-01T18:00:37Z")
> [@Mindfield](#): > > …What was the “wrong oil?”… An unlabeled bottle of what I thought was regular vegetable oil was, in fact, light olive oil or something similar. The kitchen’s owner later said he thinks the stove gets too hot. A medium setting cooks food like it’s on medium-high. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/33 "2009-11-01T22:58:11Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > This thread makes me want to get a fire extinguisher. Especially since I’m cooking more, and my friend has a distressing habit of leaving the stove on when he’s done. (I’ve formed the habit of checking up after him.) > > Is [this one](http://www.canadiantire.ca/storelocator/store_locator.jsp?CTC_INPUT_POSTAL%3C%3Estore_no=0171&CTC_INPUT_POSTAL%3C%3Epostal_code=M9B1B1&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443287969&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672825&bmForm=form_make_my_ctc_store&bmFormID=1257039378363&bmUID=1257039378363&bmHash=68d75526582d0e4e6679d070debbef82f8311aed) good? It’s descriobed as a ‘kitchen fire extinguisher’. Unfortunately the link doesn’t work. But you probably want something like [this](http://www.ukfiredirect.co.uk/For_the_Home/1_Kilo_Powder_Extinguisher) powder extinguisher and a fire blanket. CO2 has the advantage over powder of going into all the difficult bits. It’s also good for removing both heat (because as it expands it gets **very** cold) and oxygen, if only temporarily, which may be enough. It’s also rather easier to clean up. Powder is rather more versatile, though, and what firemen recommend. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/34 "2009-11-05T21:42:04Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > Baking Soda is your friend. I remember making a “Kitchen Fire Extinguisher” in Kindergarten: > {snip} > > Baking soda is dirt cheap, it won’t burn, and the mess usually isn’t too bad. I’ll testify to this one. Years ago, when I first moved out on my own, I made some fried stuff, and tossed a cover on the pot as I went off to eat my fried goodness. Alas, I forgot to turn off the heat. A time later, I realized this, turned off the burner, and lifted off the cover. Note to all. Don’t lift the cover. Whoosh. Fire, smoke. I reached for my handy box of baking soda, kept unopened, specifically in case this exact thing happened, ripped the top, and dumped over the top of the fire. Cover went back on. Windows were opened, fans turned on, and the mess cleaned up fairly easily. The pot had to be scrubbed a bit, but that was much easier than explaining to my friend (the landlord), the fire department, and my neighbors, why they no longer had property. I have fire extinguishers in my boat, garage, and near the fireplace. I keep baking soda for my kitchen use. It works on any flame I’m likely to cause in the kitchen, and lasts forever, without having to be replaced until used. (I’m on the same one after 9 years of living in my house… thank god.) ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/35 "2009-11-05T21:57:34Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > Mythbusters just did this. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmjSUlKoMXE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmjSUlKoMXE) And holy hell, you REALLY don’t want to use water to put out a grease fire. I’d always heard it was a bad idea, but until that episode of Mythbusters, I had no idea just how bad an idea it was. I may never fry again. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/36 "2009-11-05T22:04:23Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Now that it’s the next day, the broken microwave is beeping every few seconds, giving me a :smack: every time I hear it. Why don’t you unplug it? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/37 "2009-11-05T22:54:55Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Why don’t you unplug it? The microwave is mounted into the cabinetry, and we couldn’t find where the power was. It stopped beeping eventually. ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/38 "2009-11-05T23:02:24Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > Mythbusters just did this. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmjSUlKoMXE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmjSUlKoMXE) :eek: Holy giant mongolian clusterflames, Batman!! :eek: I can’t believe that was a single teaspoon of water. My gast has been flabbered… ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/39 "2009-11-05T23:17:36Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > And holy hell, you REALLY don’t want to use water to put out a grease fire. I’d always heard it was a bad idea, but until that episode of Mythbusters, I had no idea just how bad an idea it was. > > I may never fry again. I knew that water was useless on a grease fire, after a couple very minor mishaps at my school apartment (roomie heats oil, I thaw frozen shrimp, I try to put shrimp in pan, water accidentally drips into pan, pan makes scary sputtering noises and spits out hot oil at us). But oh man, I saw that episode last night and I could barely boil WATER. :eek: Of course, I watch everything like a hawk and only heat it to the lowest setting necessary, so hopefully I can avoid a fire. And I have a ready supply of baking soda nearby. I’d sooner use that than our extinguisher, seeing as I’d spend at least a minute or two fiddling with it before actually being able to spray it at a fire…and by then it’d probably be too late. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582/40 "2009-11-06T17:43:48Z")
I pulled one of these, but fortunately I got a cover on mine and carted it outside to a cinderblock on the porch (in the winter) before the flames could spread. Still filled the (large, four-bedroom) apartment with at least a foot or two of smoke and made the whole place smell like burned tempura (which is what I was making at the time). > [@garygnu](#): > > The exhaust fan turned itself on. I don’t know if this is a safety feature or what, but it probably helped. IIRC, you actually want to turn exhaust fans OFF until the fire is extinguished, or they can actually spread the fire further. > [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Flour can be used to dowse flames as well. **NO.** It will **explode**. Seriously, when talking fire safety, double-check your suggestions before you post them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-successfully-put-out-a-kitchen-fire-long/511582.md?page=3)