Except for the video the fire safety message below is essentially the same as the one from March 2011 that recently appeared in the daily ten most viewed posts on RTE. The reason I am repeating this post is because the owner of the video in the original post took the video down - I'll never know why because it was so good. I found another video & present it & the substance of the original post below.
click on image to enlarge Click on this link of a video of a very practical fire safety message that could very well save your house &/or your life in the event of an oil fire in your kitchen.
The above graphic displays the fire triangle - when heat (flame or spark), fuel (oil), & oxygen (air) are present in the right proportions the chemical exothermic reaction that is fire will be produced. Remove any one of the fire triangle elements & the fire will go out.
The video from the original 2011 post showed that in the event of a kitchen oil fire you should first turn off the heat on the stove & then simply wet a large towel & place it over the flame in the pot or pan to allow the combustion reaction to consume the oxygen in the contained utensil so the fire will be smothered & go out. You can also place another pan over the fire so the reaction consumes the oxygen as demonstrated in the above video.
Pouring water on the flaming pot or pan will throw the fire into the rest of the kitchen as dramatically shown on the above video. Water has a higher density than oil & will therefore sink to the bottom of the pot or pan where it will instantly expand to over 1,600 times its original volume (the ratio of the specific volume of water vapor to that of liquid water under these conditions is greater than 1,600).
Do not throw sugar or flour on an oil fire - one cup of either creates the explosive force of two sticks of dynamite.
It is also a good idea to have a fire extinguisher handy in your kitchen & to be familiar with how to use it - but a simple wetted large towel or another pot strategically placed can save many a day & house.
Doug - Thanks for that information. I had a problem this morning. I have an electric stove and I was trying to heat a flour Tortilla. I had done it many times but this time it caught fire. I managed to get it off the stove and into the sink and turned on the water. My kitchen is very small so I was able to it very fast. Then, I took another one out and it worked fine.
ReplyDeleteLucky it was not an oil fire or your small kitchen could have been in flames.
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