Portland Fire Alarm

Preventing Grease Fires

Now that you know what a grease fire is and how to put it out, you may be wondering how to prevent a one. One good tip is to be mindful of when a grease fire may occur such as holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas. But here are some extra precautions you should follow to prevent a grease fire.

1. Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, boiling, or broiling food. The leading cause of fires in the kitchen is unattended cooking.

2. Be alert and do not use the stove or stovetop if you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol.

3. Keep anything that can catch fire away from your stovetop.

4. Remove as much moisture as possible from food before putting it in hot oil. Do not put frozen foods into hot grease.

5. Keep the grease at the recommended temperature. If you see any smoke of the oil smells, it is an indication that it is too hot. Immediately turn off the burner to let it cool down.

6. Heat the oil slowly.

7. Add food gently to prevent splatter.

8. Keep a lid near the pan you’re cooking with so that it is accessible if a fire starts.

9. Always keep children away from the stove while cooking.

If you haven’t read our other post about what to do if you have a grease fire, you can access the article here.  Just remember to be aware of your surroundings and on guard while you are cooking so you can act quickly if a fire starts.

What is a grease fire and what do I do to put it out?

One of the most common types of household fires are grease fires. Cooking causes 160,000 home structure fires annually and two-thirds started with the ignition of food or other cooking materials, often ignited by grease. What’s the difference between a grease fire and an apartment fire?

Thirty seconds.

P/C State Farm

It only takes 30 seconds for a grease fire to get out of control beyond the point of being put out with a fire extinguisher. Because there is such a short amount of time for you to act and put out a grease fire, you’ll want to know exactly what to do and what not to do so you can react quickly.

If a grease fire starts:

1. Cover the flames with a metal lid or cookie sheet. Leave the cover on until it has cooled.

2. Turn off the heat source.

3. If it’s small and manageable, pour baking soda or salt on it to smother the fire. (Do not use similar items such as flour or baking powder as they are not the same chemical makeup and will make the fire worse.)

4. As a last resort, spray the fire with a Class B dry chemical fire extinguisher.

5. Do not try to extinguish the fire with water. (Because water and oil don’t mix, it splashes the grease around and often makes things worse.)

6. Do not attempt to move the pot or pan outside.

7. If your cabinets are on fire, get out and call 911.