Featured News Coverage

Thad Dixon:

The fire started by combustibles being placed too close to the stove, dry goods like paper towels and stuff like that. The radiant heat from the stove started a fire.

Brooke Kelly:

A fire that was quickly put out thanks to this, a piece of equipment Battalion Fire Chief Thad Dixon says, he doesn’t see often but does work. And today, this little device did its job preventing a stove fire from becoming a major fire.

Thad Dixon:

This one went off and not the fire almost completely out before we got here.

Brooke Kelly:

Michael Scaife is the property manager here at Live Oak Plantation. He took us into a vacant apartment to show us the StoveTop FireStop. He says every apartment has two installed above the stove.

Michael:

These cans disperse a powder that is able to put out even grease fires.

Brooke Kelly:

Scaife says, this is the first incident they’ve had where the device was put into action. He says, it proves this little can works.

Michael:

It has the potential to save thousands of dollars in property damage and lives, also.

Brooke Kelly:

Here’s a demonstration from the company’s website.

Michael:

There’s a temperature sensor device inside of the FireStop that when the temperature gets high enough, and if you have high flames, the can disperses this powder to put out the fire.

Brooke Kelly:

Scaife hopes installing these cans of StoveTop FireStop catches on, so they can prevent more fires.

Michael:

And I hope that a lot of other apartment complexes start to take this into consideration also because it’s a low expense and it could save you thousands, and save lives also.

Brooke Kelly:

Just like firefighters say it did today. In Savannah, Brooke Kelly, WTOC news.

Speaker 1:

Firefighters say a simple device can keep a small kitchen fire from turning deadly.

Vanessa Welch:

And after several recent fatal fires, Channel Nine’s Steve Barrett reports Orange County firefighters have started giving away 400 of these devices.

Steve Barrett:

Inside this little canister is a chance to survive one of the most dangerous fire situations you can encounter, a kitchen fire.

Lt. Mark Smothers:

Statistics have shown that people that are over 55 years of age, the risks of injury and death increased dramatically.

Steve Barrett:

Just last week, Channel Nine reported an elderly woman’s death after a kitchen fire filled her Orange County home with smoke, but the most common fires occur in manufactured homes. For that reason, Orange County firefighters are distributing hundreds of the devices to elderly residents in area mobile home communities.

Lt. Mark Smothers:

The FireStop was primarily designed for kitchen fires, and primarily for grease fires.

Steve Barrett:

The FireStop canister is simple, it doesn’t even need electricity. Basically you hang it over your stove and when there’s a fire, this little sensor detects it. The bottom drops out, and the fire suppressant puts out the fire.

Lt. Mark Smothers:

It will automatically dispense a product that extinguishes a fire, prior to that fire, obviously moving in behind the wall, and it just puts it out quickly.

Steve Barrett:

This promotional video shows exactly how the product works. The device is even designed to make a loud popping noise as a warning. Orange County firefighters hope by distributing the devices, they’ll jumpstart their popularity and save lives in the most common fires situations. In orange County, Steve Barrett, Channel Nine Eyewitness News.

Vanessa Welch:

The FireStop device is not available in stores, but can be purchased online for less than $30. We have a link with more information in the web link section.

Speaker 1:

Firefighters say a Dothan apartment complex was saved by a simple new device. The device called the StoveTop FireStop had been installed in every kitchen at Beverley Crossing. When a stove fire started and was put out by the device, apartment managers and firefighters took notice. The StoveTop FireStop works like an automatic fire extinguisher. When flames reach it, a flame retardant powder is released stopping fire in its tracks. The Dothan Fire Department is now installing the devices in some homes.

Chris Etheredge:

Working with local senior centers, Alzheimer’s organizations, and support groups, we’ve identified a large number of those so far and are installing those in those homes of the at-risk citizen.

Speaker 1:

The price for a pair of FireStops about $50.

Speaker 1:

Action news. Delaware Valley’s leading news program, with Jim Gardner.

Jim Gardner:

We will go right to Nydia Hahn on the consumer front. Action News is testing products that claim to put out fires fast. Do they work? Should you buy these devices for your home? Consumer Reporter Nydia Hahn is here with all the answers tonight.

Nydia Hahn:

I was surprised by some of these results, Jim. For our test we enlisted help from the experts, firefighters of the Bucks County Department of Public Safety Training Facility, and they were as struck by the dramatic results as we were.

Nydia Hahn:

First up, the kitchen fire blanket, which sells for $39. We set up a grease fire on top of a stove. As the flames shoot up, Chief Fred Hashagan places the blanket over the pot. Immediately, smoke starts coming through the blanket, but be careful. That doesn’t mean the fire is out.

Fred Hashagen:

[crosstalk 00:01:05] the hot [inaudible 00:01:06]. See it’s starting to light back up again?

Nydia Hahn:

We put the blanket back over the pot and let it cool for five minutes.

Fred Hashagen:

Yes.

Nydia Hahn:

And that seems to do the trick.

Fred Hashagen:

[crosstalk 00:01:13].

Nydia Hahn:

So what do you think?

Fred Hashagen:

It did a fairly decent job, as long as you’re safe with it and you don’t yank the blanket around and that, and you leave it on and get help right afterwards, I think it’s a good product.

Nydia Hahn:

Next up, the StoveTop FireStop which retails for $56.95.

Nydia Hahn:

So Chief, these are just magnets.

Nydia Hahn:

These are small canisters that attach underneath your vent hood with magnets.

Fred Hashagen:

[crosstalk 00:01:33].

Nydia Hahn:

Once a flame touches the FireStop fuse, the product is supposed to release a suppression powder. Let’s see what happens.

Fred Hashagen:

There she goes.

Speaker 5:

There it goes, yep.

Nydia Hahn:

The powder smothers the fire in seconds.

Fred Hashagen:

It’s a great product.

Nydia Hahn:

So much so that fire marshals in Bucks County are looking into getting grants for stove top devices like this to be able to hand out to the community.

Fred Hashagen:

There’s a couple chiefs that are here that’ve seen them used and it has saved a lot of property.

Nydia Hahn:

And finally, we tested the Grotto’s On Fire Fireball, which carries a price of $39.95. It says it can be placed anywhere in your home or vehicle, and you just set it and forget it.

Nydia Hahn:

The first one, we placed on top of the dresser surrounded by accelerant material. The Fireball claims to extinguish a fire in seconds once the ball’s temperature reaches 158 degrees. However-

Fred Hashagen:

Ball’s glowing at 350 [inaudible 00:02:24].

Nydia Hahn:

That’s 350 degrees, more than double, and nothing is happening. It takes more than 10 minutes for the ball to finally go off, and when it does.

Fred Hashagen:

Woah.

Nydia Hahn:

The fire is still going. So we do a second test, hanging the product on the wall above a trash can we light on fire. Once again, the ball reaches 316 degrees, well above the supposedly required 158 degrees.

Nydia Hahn:

When it does explode, it knocks the flames down for a second before the fire flares back up.

Nydia Hahn:

In our third attempt, the firefighters roll the ball into the fire on the ground. The ball catches fire and explodes, but does not put out the blaze. Chief Hashagen’s reaction?

Fred Hashagen:

I’m not impressed at all. Even when we rolled it into the fire, it took a long time to get into the fire and light off, and still didn’t put the fire out.

Nydia Hahn:

You would not recommend this product?

Fred Hashagen:

No, I would not.

Nydia Hahn:

We did get comment from Grotto’s On Fire. A company spokesperson says quote, “It is difficult for us to comment on tests that were conducted without us being present, or at least seeing a video. With tests we have conducted on our own under the supervision of firefighters here in New York State, we have had excellent results. This was the case with brush fires, Christmas tree fires, bales of hay ignited with road flares, wood fires inside steel barrels, and more. Out of all our tests, we have not had a single case where the Fireball did not extinguish the fire. Results will vary based on different conditions.”

Nydia Hahn:

Also an important note tonight, fire suppression devices do not replace the need for working smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in your home, make sure you have both. We’ve posted a video of the proper way to use a fire extinguisher on 6abc.com.

Nydia Hahn:

And any time there is a fire you should always call your local fire department to make sure it is properly and completely put out.

Nydia Hahn:

That’s probably the most important thing, Jim.

Jim Gardner:

Those first two products were impressive.

Nydia Hahn:

They were, in fact. The kitchen blanket we’re going to get at home.

Jim Gardner:

Any reason to send Grotto the video that you have of the tests that-

Nydia Hahn:

We may do that.

Jim Gardner:

Get their reaction.

Nydia Hahn:

Yeah.

Jim Gardner:

All right.

Nydia Hahn:

[inaudible 00:04:29].

Jim Gardner:

I don’t mean to, well you know [crosstalk 00:04:32].

Nydia Hahn:

We’ll follow up with you.

Jim Gardner:

Okay.

Nydia Hahn:

Thanks.

Speaker 1:

This is KCCI News Channel Eight.

Speaker 2:

It was horrible. All the walls are black.

Stacey Horst:

In no time at all a cooking fire can turn your kitchen into an inferno, but what do you do if it happens to you? Most people panic if they find a grease filled pan on fire.

Patrick Bell:

We put to the test, several items that are said to put them out, and found a $50 device that can really be installed in seconds. News Channel Eight’s Cynthia Fodor shows us the ingredients to snuff out a fire.

Mike Russel:

Just like this.

Cynthia Fodor:

Mike Russell will never forget the last time he fried onion rings, the cooking oil caught fire and he grabbed the pan and ran to the sink.

Mike Russel:

As I was dumping it out I got burnt, this finger on to my thumb here.

Cynthia Fodor:

55% of people who try to fight the fire themselves are injured, 11% die. Ames firefighters put oil in a pan and left it on the stove to show us what happens. In about 15 minutes it bubbles up, spills over, spatters and starts to spark.

Randy Novak:

Now we have a fire. The fire ignited at 700 degrees.

Cynthia Fodor:

Most people end up with serious burns by grabbing the pan to spill out the grease. Do not move the skillet from the stove.

Randy Novak:

Periodically they’ll do the real dumb thing, they’ll pick this up and take it outside, and in the process because the adrenaline is flowing, they’re nervous, they will spill this and they will leave a trail of fire all the way from the stove to the outside door.

Cynthia Fodor:

Or the biggest mistake people make, what causes the most injuries, deaths and damage, throwing water on the fire, causing it to flare up into the whole kitchen,

Randy Novak:

Then there’s a great chance that they’re going to get it on themselves, and now they’re on fire. That’s the worst case scenario, but we will see that periodically happen.

Cynthia Fodor:

You may have heard to smother a cooking fire with a cookie sheet or lid, we tried that and watch what happens when firefighters use our roasting pan. It’s not air tight and doesn’t contain the flames.

Speaker 8:

I don’t think that’s going to work.

Cynthia Fodor:

So we tried a tight fitting lid.

Randy Novak:

Going to try to put it out with the pan lid first. We’ll put the pan lid over the top, that fits well, that is actually separating the heat from the fuel.

Cynthia Fodor:

But if the lid doesn’t fit perfectly, watch what happens, it creates even more flames. The firefighter is wearing fireproof gloves. But imagine what would happen to your hand as the lid catches on fire.

Rob Van Pelt:

Once the flames get going, it has a potential to get throughout the house.

Cynthia Fodor:

What is the secret to putting out a grease fire? Keep a good old fashioned box of baking soda within arms length of your stove and be ready to pour it on.

Cynthia Fodor:

A man in Texas invented an easy way to put out a fire using what looks like a bean dip can full of baking soda with a magnet that sticks under the hood.

Cynthia Fodor:

When a small fuse on the canister filled with bicarbonate of soda catches fire, watch, it pops like a balloon quickly suppressing the flames. Some firefighters around the country are distributing these simple $50 devices hoping to save lives.

Cynthia Fodor:

A fire extinguisher with an A, B, or C rating will also do the trick if you know how to use it properly. If not, the best advice, when in doubt, get out. Call 911 and leave it to the professionals.

Rob Van Pelt:

If you have a fire like that, you want to get out of the house as fast as you can and call 911 so that we can get on our way.

Cynthia Fodor:

You can always replace property, but you can never replace a life.

Cynthia Fodor:

A few other tips to stay safe, set a kitchen timer to remind you to check on your cooking. Keep things like potholders, tea towels, or food packaging away from the burners and remember how to stop, drop and roll in case your clothes catch on fire. Stacy and Patrick.

Patrick Bell:

Thanks Cynthia. If you’re interested in those StoveTop FireStops you saw there, those little cans of baking soda, you can order them through Lowe’s or ACE hardware stores.

Speaker 1:

Coverage you can count on. This is Fox 2 News.

Speaker 2:

They are the most common and often the most devastating fires that firefighters and medics respond to.

Tom:

And one wrong move can make a bad situation much worse. They are the fires that start in the kitchen and just a couple of days before one of the biggest cooking days of the year, Fox 2’s George Sells joins us with the Fox Files story you need to see. George.

George Sells:

Well Tom, this is a story about the kind of fire that hurts more people than any other. Similar reports have been done in other cities, but this is the first time St. Louis firefighters have taken part. It comes with a cautionary tale, as well as a look at a product that might save you from a lifetime of pain.

George Sells:

This is what happens when you pour water on a grease fire. A terrifying moment that changed Yolanda Johnson’s life. The simple act of lighting a stove. It took Johnson six months to be able to do that again. Her scarred arms provide a clue why.

Yolanda Johnson:

I don’t know what happened or how it happened, but my sleeve caught on fire and it just went… The flame… And my shirt caught on fire, but I automatically took the shirt off but I automatically… Then my friend was with me so and she automatically through the water in the skillet. It went everywhere. It was back, up and back.

George Sells:

And all over you.

Yolanda Johnson:

And all over me.

George Sells:

Water made that grease explode. 40% of Yolanda’s upper body was covered in third and even fourth degree burns. Fourth degree is when the burn gets through the skin to muscle and bone. First there was shock, then…

Yolanda Johnson:

Once the ambulance got there, that’s when I felt the first pain, and that’s the worst pain you will ever feel.

George Sells:

Kitchen fires are the cause for more than 40% of fires in this nation and nearly 40% of the injuries too.

Dennis Jenkersen:

Any type of burn injury is a horrific injury.

George Sells:

And fire chief Dennis Jenkerson has seen plenty.

Dennis Jenkersen:

It’s normally a pretty substantial injury once we get there.

George Sells:

All because when you see this, your gut says do something.

Dennis Jenkersen:

Go up time, turn the gas off, grab, hit the pot by accident and spill it all over yourself. That’s the instinct. And this is going pretty good. This is hot. People are going to make mistakes in this situation and that’s when we get called in and they’re laying to the floor.

George Sells:

How bad is it? Just watch. A fully protected firefighter literally wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole. This one was 12 feet.

Dennis Jenkersen:

We’re going to expand that little cup of water about 25,000 times.

George Sells:

Into a ball of fire.

Dennis Jenkersen:

If you get a fireball inside a kitchen and if you’re close to it your clothes, your hair, you’re burnt bad.

George Sells:

Even seven years later, as you can see watching this is hard for Yolanda.

Yolanda Johnson:

Yeah, this brings it back. All I remember was trying to put it out, wanting to put it out. How are we going to put it out? Thinking, we need to put it out.

George Sells:

We’ve been taught to turn off the burner and cover it, but what about taking human reaction out of this altogether? This little canister is called the StoveTop FireStop. You saw what happened when water hit the fire. Now watch what happens when this little gadget, the Firestop is triggered. With a flash of chemical the fire is all but gone.

Yolanda Johnson:

Wow! Yeah, I’d have loved one of those.

George Sells:

And there are at least a dozen municipalities around the country that now require these in some homes, usually apartments, or are considering it. Here in St. Louis fire officials would like to see a UL product certification for the Firestop before making an endorsement, but they can see a benefit.

Dennis Jenkersen:

It might be one of those things that you don’t have to worry about. You don’t have to grab, you don’t have to activate. It’s automatic. If you have a fire extinguisher in your house, you have to remember to grab the fire extinguisher, pull the pin, aim it, and hopefully you won’t aim it directly into the grease and splatter the grease all over.

George Sells:

For Yolanda, it was about learning to deal with scars.

Yolanda Johnson:

The scarring is… You have to deal with the scarring inside and out.

George Sells:

And finding the strength to cope with her own tragedy.

Yolanda Johnson:

It’s just not there at the time you needed it to be there.

George Sells:

We have a lot of information on our website, Fox2now.com including raw video from these fires and an extensive photo gallery as well. And if you are interested in the StoveTop FireStop, we actually have a contest on our website to give a few of them away. You have from now until Sunday to register. Just head to Fox2now.com and look for it on the Fox Files webpage. George Sells, Fox 2 News.

Kitchen and cooking fires the most common, damaging and deadly for home. Sabrina Rodriguez has ways to keep your home safe, including something called The StoveTop FireStop.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

Life-

Kevin Summers:

It’ll pop here in a second.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

Can change in an instant.

Theresa Parker:

It happens so fast.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

And no one knows that better than Theresa Parker.

Theresa Parker:

This was actually on fire.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

It happened October 24th. Theresa remembers the date.

Theresa Parker:

It was my son’s birthday. I was frying tortillas to make chicken enchiladas for his birthday.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

She then went next door to invite her neighbor to dinner, gone just a few moments, but when she came back-

Theresa Parker:

The pan was here. All of this was on fire.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

She knows better than to put water on a grease fire and to remove the heat source, but that’s where she made a classic mistake.

Kevin Summers:

People will actually try to carry the pan.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

Kevin Summers is with Sac Metro Fire.

Kevin Summers:

That liquid, it’s going to slosh onto your home and potentially onto you.

Theresa Parker:

And when I went like this, the oil went like this on me and it caught on fire.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

But even after getting the pan to the sink, she thought was dry.

Theresa Parker:

It kind of exploded.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

This is what happens when just a cup of water is added to an inch of lit oil. This camera was on the ceiling, 10 feet away from the pan. Sac Metro Fire set up this demonstration to show how to handle a grease fire. First, have a tight fitting lid and an oven mitt handy.

Kevin Summers:

You Walk up, deflecting the flame away from me. Gently lay the lid right on top.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

Seems simple, but so many people don’t do that.

Theresa Parker:

I’ve never had a fire.

Kevin Summers:

If you’re not prepared for something, you’re going to panic.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

But it doesn’t have to get to that point. Kitchen fires are preventative.

Kevin Summers:

The little bit of smoke that’s been generated, your smoke detector is going off already. And you could deal with this before it became a major disaster.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

We know the benefits of smoke detectors, but there’s another device that could be even more valuable, it’s called the stove top fire stop, and it’s like having a fire man in a can. Watch what happens when the flames reached the fire stops wick. It’s about $50 for two cans, a good deal that made sense for Vanessa Guera.

Vanessa Guera:

Safety and protection for our residents is the highest priority.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

She’s the project manager at Mutual Housing at the Highlands and made sure fire stops were installed in every unit.

Speaker 7:

I think it’s pretty cool.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

And can save thousands in fire damage.

Theresa Parker:

This is melted. This is melted. Under here. The whole top of this was burned.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

It’s not certain if the fire stop would have made a difference for Teresa, who still has the pan that caught fire.

Theresa Parker:

Supposed to be this color.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

But we have to point something out, Theresa was nervous about sharing her story.

Theresa Parker:

I didn’t know what to do.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

But realized her experience.

Theresa Parker:

The whole top of my foot is burnt.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

And scars-

Theresa Parker:

It’s healing good.

Sabrina Rodriguez:

Are a lesson to share because she’s here to share it.

Theresa Parker:

I feel tremendously lucky. It could have been a lot worse.

Speaker 1:

All of that’s especially important to know because Thanksgiving is coming up and the National Fire Protection Association says Thanksgiving is the leading day for cooking fires, with three times as many cooking fires as an average day.

Speaker 8:

All right, next stop Mexico.

Speaker 1:

Up in flames. This is the last thing you’d want to have happen in your kitchen, but if it did, would you know what to do? Unfortunately, the answer for many, many people would be no.

Speaker 2:

And it’s why kitchen fires are the leading cause of house fires in the United States, resulting in hundreds of deaths and millions of dollars in damage every year.

Speaker 1:

Consumer editor, Susan Koeppen is here with a special consumer investigation. This is helpful info you have for us.

Susan Koeppen:

Absolutely. We’re heading into the holidays, prime time for cooking and baking. In fact, Thanksgiving is the number one day for kitchen fires and knowing how to handle a cooking fire can make the difference between a small problem and a major catastrophe. And we asked a local fire department to show us the right moves by literally setting a kitchen on fire.

Susan Koeppen:

It doesn’t take long for a small cooking fire to become a raging inferno.

Speaker 4:

Apartment 525, stove is on fire.

Susan Koeppen:

Kitchen fires are responsible for more than 400 deaths and more than 5,000 injuries each year.

Susan Koeppen:

Do you think that most people know what to do in a kitchen fire?

Speaker 5:

Unfortunately, most people don’t know what to do because we see it time and time again, people doing the wrong thing.

Susan Koeppen:

Jason Zeigler admits he did the wrong thing when oil for his chicken wings caught fire.

Susan Koeppen:

You walk into the kitchen and what do you see?

Jason Zeigler:

I see a bunch of smoke and I see a flame coming from the pot.

Susan Koeppen:

And your first reaction is what?

Jason Zeigler:

Get the pot out of the house. I reached out like this and grabbed on to the handles.

Susan Koeppen:

Jason says he grabbed the burning pot and tried to get it out the door.

Jason Zeigler:

When I was turning around to open the door with my backside, that’s when it flashed over and caught my arm and I dropped the pot and it come up on me. This was one of the worst areas here. The skin actually started coming down and looked like melted wax. I was burned here on my right arm and the right side of my face right here and onto my ear.

Susan Koeppen:

Jason spent 11 days in the hospital and he still bears the scars of what happened when his small kitchen fire got out of hand.

Jason Zeigler:

If I would’ve known then what I know now, I could have prevented all this from happening.

Susan Koeppen:

With the help of the Beaver Falls Fire Department and six different cameras, we’re about to show you the dos and don’ts of handling a kitchen fire.

Speaker 5:

We’re placing one cup of oil in the pan.

Susan Koeppen:

All it takes is some heat and that oil can ignite. Your first reaction may be to throw water on the fire, but that is the wrong thing to do. Water, oil don’t mix.

Speaker 5:

Don’t mix. Don’t mix.

Susan Koeppen:

You’re going to make a fire bomb.

Speaker 5:

That’s exactly what we’re doing.

Susan Koeppen:

Watch what happens when we pour one cup of water-

Speaker 5:

You guys ready?

Susan Koeppen:

Into one cup of burning oil.

Susan Koeppen:

The blast is so intense, it rips the curtains off the window. What happens to the person standing there who just dumped that water?

Speaker 5:

That fire is coming right in that person’s face.

Susan Koeppen:

Even using the wrong kind of fire extinguisher, like this water-based one, can be disastrous. The fire doubles in size.

Speaker 5:

I’m just going to pour ordinary water on the towel.

Susan Koeppen:

And using a wet dish towel is also a wrong move. Watch.

Speaker 5:

I’m going to go ahead and throw this.

Susan Koeppen:

The towel just pushes the flames higher out the back and if you think grabbing something like flour is a good option…

Speaker 5:

Flour will tend to make the fire grow as you see.

Susan Koeppen:

In a kitchen fire, here’s what you should do. Grab the nearest lid.

Speaker 5:

Take the lid and slide the lid right over the burning pot.

Susan Koeppen:

Immediately turn off the stove and leave the pan alone. Here’s what happens if you remove the lid too soon.

Speaker 5:

That could reignite very quickly. There it went.

Susan Koeppen:

If you don’t have a lid handy, something like a cookie sheet will do. You can also use a fire extinguisher made for grease fires like this easy to use spray can called Tundra.

Speaker 5:

You don’t want to get it too close because if you do it will drive the cooking oil all over the wall, all over the stove.

Susan Koeppen:

Stay back four to six feet, aim at the base of the fire and remember to turn the stove off when the fire is out.

Speaker 5:

What you do is you place one on each side and this little device called StoveTop FireStop is a fire suppressor in a can.

Susan Koeppen:

So you just have a magnet here and you click it into place.

Speaker 5:

That’s all you do, click it into place and it’s there all the time, ready to go.

Susan Koeppen:

Here’s the device in action. When a stove fire reaches the fuse on the FireStop, fire suppressing powder comes raining down and just like that, the fire is out. Quick action like this is crucial when it comes to a kitchen fire.

Susan Koeppen:

From the point you see a grease fire until the point it’s too late, how much time do you have?

Speaker 5:

Once it’s starting to burn, 30 seconds, maybe. That’s it.

Susan Koeppen:

We decided to let this fire on the stove burn. In just one minute, heavy black smoke was pushing down from the ceiling and it took just 30 seconds more before the cabinets were on fire.

Susan Koeppen:

So a small grease fire turns into this.

Speaker 5:

It happens every day. You have to be prepared. You have to know what to do in the event of a fire.

Susan Koeppen:

And experts say you should never leave food on attended while it is cooking. It is the leading factor in kitchen fires and you should always cook with a lid and a cooking mitt by the stove just in case so you can act quickly.

Speaker 2:

This is one of my biggest fears. I’m so glad you did this. Now, one thing I hear about is baking soda. Does that work to put out a fire?

Susan Koeppen:

Yeah, baking soda can put out a fire, but they don’t recommend it. One, you’re going to start looking for the baking soda. Where is it? And then you have to get so close to the fire to dump it in and then what if you try to throw it on? It’s going to spray the fire so they don’t recommend it.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Speaker 1:

These things look like-

StoveTop FireStop Featured During Indianapolis Community Fire Safety Event

Did you know that the most common cause of house fires is from cooking? According to a recent National Fire Protection Association report, there are an average of 471 home cooking fires reported every day in the U.S., and that results in 530 deaths, 5,270 injuries and property damage of about $1.1 billion every year.

Stovetop and cooking fires often occur due to people walking away from an active stove and leaving it unattended. Food and cooking materials like oven mitts typically catch fire. Grease fires are particularly dangerous because of their tendency to rapidly spread.

It can take less than 30 seconds for a fire to spread out of control. StoveTop FireStop’s fire suppression canisters are made to suppress flames quickly and with minimal damage. The canisters attach easily underneath the stove’s hood and release a fire-suppressing powder when activated.

The way the FireStop is triggered depends on which model is being used. Rangehood, Microhood, Plus or Plus LC, original fused-based units are activated when there is a direct, sustained flame with the fuse on the bottom of the canister.The StoveTop Plus Sensor, features an array of embedded sensors and complex algorithms that monitor a stove’s cooking surface for the specific signatures of a cooking fire.

WISH-TV in Indianapolis worked closely with its local fire department to help educate the public about cooking and stovetop fires with a demonstration of what a grease fire can look like when water is poured onto the active flames. Because water expands when it reaches its boiling point, the result is a nearly instantaneous, out-of-control fire. However, a second demonstration with a StoveTop FireStop canister attached to the hood shows how quickly the flames can be smothered by the fire-suppressing powder that is released.

Speaker 1:

From NBC News, this is TODAY.

Speaker 2:

So when was the last time you cleaned out your dryer vent? Come on, Brooke. Yesterday?

Brooke:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. What about checking out the correct wattage on all your light bulbs? Did that this morning? Maybe never-

Brooke:

Never.

Speaker 2:

… right?

Brooke:

Well, these little everyday things around your house could be dangerous to you and your family. Here to point out these hidden hazards is Amy Matthews, host of Renovation Raiders on HGTV. Good morning, Amy.

Amy Matthews:

Good morning. Thanks for having me, you guys. Let’s make our house safe.

Brooke:

All right, so [crosstalk 00:00:28].

Speaker 2:

Grease fires first. Let’s start with that.

Amy Matthews:

Most common cause of household fire is cooking. One thing you never want to do is put water on it. Bad idea. So it needs to be put out by some sort of fire suppressant. You can get a blanket, you can get something like this that sticks underneath your hood vents.

Brooke:

Suffocating. You need to suffocate it-

Amy Matthews:

It suffocates it. Because you want to cut off the oxygen to the fire. So if you don’t have any of these fun ones you’ve purchased, you can use a pan lid, you can use a cookie sheet, anything. But just remember-

Brooke:

[crosstalk 00:00:54] put all anything on it?

Amy Matthews:

Yes, you can put anything on it except for…-

Speaker 2:

Except for water-

Amy Matthews:

Except for water.

Brooke:

No, water, no sugar-

Amy Matthews:

No sugar.

Brooke:

… no flour, no salt-

Amy Matthews:

Exactly. Those things will blow up. So don’t get those out.

Speaker 2:

She’s learned her lessons well.

Brooke:

Yeah, I have.

Speaker 2:

Okay, over here let’s talk about hazardous cords because a lot of us have these fraying cords and think, “You know, we can get by another couple of years with that,” right?

Amy Matthews:

Right. Check all your chords, especially to your toaster because it uses a lot more wattage than anything else in your kitchen. So make sure that there’s not something that looks like that on there. And also it should never be plugged into a multi-plug. It should be plugged into a simple outlet by itself. And you shouldn’t have any flammables around it. No paper towels, no cookbooks or anything. Leave this on its own.

Brooke:

But you don’t have to unplug it every day?

Amy Matthews:

No, but some people do because there actually is a risk of fires-

Brooke:

When I go away.

Amy Matthews:

When you go away.

Brooke:

When I go away for a while I unplug mine.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Amy Matthews:

Perfect idea. Who wants to vacuum?

Speaker 2:

All right. We’re talking about our dryer, the back of the dryer. A lot of people don’t look behind the dryer or do this.

Amy Matthews:

They don’t. At all this little lint really backs up. So pull the dryer way, take a look back here, vacuum all of this out. There’ll be a ton of lint build-up.

Speaker 2:

And the reason for doing is because of fire, right? You hear about dryer fires all the time-

Amy Matthews:

It will cause a fire. And look at all of the stuff that can literally… look at that, your jeans, undies.

Brooke:

How often do you have to do this?

Amy Matthews:

So once a year. In fact, all these things are easy to do once a year. And then when you’re doing this, make sure you check the outside exhaust as well because that one gets really backed up on the outside of the house.

Brooke:

And you’re saying this has to be at least four inches away from the wall, right?

Amy Matthews:

Actually the…

Brooke:

Or the water.

Amy Matthews:

The water because of the kinking in the lines back there. So most of them sit a little ways away because of the vents on there. So-

Speaker 2:

Okay, and over here, speaking of water. Water damage is a costly… but I just fixed a whole wall because of water damage behind my washing machine.

Amy Matthews:

Was it this? Did you need me-

Speaker 2:

Yes, I should have had you come.

Amy Matthews:

… Did you need me? Should I have come on last week?

Speaker 2:

Where were you? You were busy with your little show.

Amy Matthews:

I’m sorry. I was renovating-

Speaker 2:

Big show.

Amy Matthews:

… 10 other houses.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Amy Matthews:

So take a look at the lines behind your washing machine. Pull it away, turn the water off. If any of these are old or frayed, replace them. When you do upgrade to one of these, because this is a steel braided line, which is a lot stronger and it’s warrantied for longer.

Amy Matthews:

Just remember when you’re working with your water, when you shut the water off as you’re going to work on things, turn on some sort of faucet on something nearby so that all the water drains, so you don’t cause your own water damage while you’re fixing it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that would not be good. Okay. I’m guilty of-

Brooke:

This is a common one.

Speaker 2:

… doing this one. This is the over wattage situation, right?

Amy Matthews:

It is. So your lights don’t have those wattage recommendations just for fun, so they actually want you to do that so that you’re safe and you don’t burn the lamp around it. It can cause a fire.

Amy Matthews:

So your regular incandescent bulb is really inefficient, number one. You’ve got your CFLs, you’ve got your LEDs and you’ve got your halogen lamps. The interesting thing is the wattage, how much energy it uses, has nothing to do with the brightness. So let’s say you have a hundred watts for this, and you’re putting in a lamp that’s only 40. Well, this per se is 22 watts, so a hundred incandescent watts equal 22 watts from CFL, but they both give the same light so you can actually get more light with less wattage. So think about it-

Brooke:

These are harder to get now too.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, these are more environmentally friendly.

Amy Matthews:

And they last longer and it’s just much smarter.

Brooke:

Okay, this is a huge-

Speaker 2:

Real quick.

Brooke:

… problem in my house. Quickly.

Amy Matthews:

So always check them once a year to make sure all of your fire and smoke alarms have batteries in them. Pick the same day, like New Year’s every year, and then make sure you have another fire extinguisher for the whole house. All of these things you can do. Just pick one day, peace of mind. Do them all at one time and you’re done.

Brooke:

Thank you.

Speaker 2:

Amy Matthews.

Brooke:

Thanks, you guys.

Speaker 2:

Great information. And thank you. My to do list has grown by a lot-

Amy Matthews:

I’m sorry. We can come over and do it for you?

Speaker 2:

I’d like that.

Amy Matthews:

I’ll get my team.

Speaker 2:

We’ll be back in a moment. This is TODAY on NBC. 

Brittany Edney:

Firefighters across the state responded to more than 8,100 home fires last year and 33% of those were caused by cooking. So using a little caution can prevent a kitchen disaster.

Speaker 2:

The best setup is to make sure that you use the rear burners as much as possible. And when you’re putting the pots on the rear burner, make sure that you always keep the handles turned towards the rear of the stove.

Brittany Edney:

And always have a kid-free zone.

Speaker 2:

Basically keep three feet in front of the stove free from all pets and children. That way you’re preventing them from coming anywhere near the stove.

Brittany Edney:

Never leave food unattended and if you have a dish in the oven, a kitchen timer is a simple tool that reminds you to check the progress. But should a fire ignite, never throw water on it.

Speaker 2:

Put the oven mat on. Take the lid, slide it across the pan and turn off the stove.

Brittany Edney:

One safety products you can keep in your home is this StoveTop FireStop. All you need to do is put it underneath your vent and then if a fire does break out, it will release chemicals which will help extinguish it.

Speaker 2:

Because of all of the things that we’ve talked about, it needs to be a reminder to people that you need to make certain that you do have working smoke alarms.

Brittany Edney:

In High Point, Brittany Edney, News 14 Carolina.

Speaker 1:

Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue is taking steps to stop the biggest cause of residential fires, that’s kitchen fires. TVFNR installed 84 stove top fire stops at a Tiger department complex today, and they also showed how it worked. The 12 ounce automatic fire extinguisher attaches magnetically under the vent hood of a stove top, when a fire ignites and the flames reached the device, fire suppressing powder is released.

Speaker 2:

In the first place, this would be vigilant when you’re not being vigilant, and would deploy whether or not you’re standing right there.

Speaker 1:

Out of the 100 apartment fires TVFNR responded to in the past year, 40% started in the kitchen.

Speaker 1:

Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue is taking steps to stop the biggest cause of residential fires, that’s kitchen fires. TVFNR installed 84 stove top fire stops at a Tiger department complex today, and they also showed how it worked. The 12 ounce automatic fire extinguisher attaches magnetically under the vent hood of a stove top, when a fire ignites and the flames reached the device, fire suppressing powder is released.

Speaker 2:

In the first place, this would be vigilant when you’re not being vigilant, and would deploy whether or not you’re standing right there.

Speaker 1:

Out of the 100 apartment fires TVFNR responded to in the past year, 40% started in the kitchen.

Speaker 1:

The coming week brings a time of family traditions and togetherness, but Thanksgiving is also one of the most dangerous days of the year in your kitchen. The reason, cooking fires.

Speaker 1:

They’re blamed for more than half of all fires in a given year, started when something like grease ignites on your stove.

Speaker 1:

These fires cause millions of dollars in damage, but more importantly, they cause injuries, and even death.

Julia Ancrub:

It did it within minutes, because I know I wasn’t gone but a second or two.

Joe Ancrub:

If she came close to the door, I did see the flame, it just raised up.

Speaker 4:

It only takes seconds, in the blink of an eye.

Speaker 4:

Your kitchen stove can go from this to this. A massive fireball rolling through your home.

Speaker 4:

Each day firefighters put their lives on the line to protect you and your home. The most common cause of house fires? The Overland Park Fire Department’s Tricia Roberts says, “Cooking.”

Tricia Roberts:

They’re our number one cause of fire nationally and here in Overland Park.

Speaker 4:

Unattended cooking is the leading factor in these fires, but even a watched pot can boil over if something like grease gets too hot.

Speaker 4:

In the case of Joe and Julia of Overland Park, it was a stove fire that destroyed their kitchen in 2009. In this case, it was candle wax.

Julia Ancrub:

I went ahead and took the candle and stuck it on a pot similar to this one, and we took the whole candle.

Speaker 4:

Candle wax, just like grease, is highly flammable.

Julia Ancrub:

And I turned the stove on as low as I could, and the back burner, and turned it down to simmer.

Speaker 4:

And once the flames start, they can explode into a fireball if the wrong decision is made in those crucial seconds.

Speaker 4:

That’s what happened in Julia’s case.

Julia Ancrub:

It kept flaming up very high, and as I kept walking out, and he had the door open, I said, “I can’t, I can’t,” and I took it and I flipped it with the water and it went all the way up to the ceiling.

Speaker 4:

The number one thing you don’t want to do is what?

Tricia Roberts:

You don’t want to move a pan that’s on fire, and you especially don’t want to put water on it.

Speaker 4:

Julia escaped without a scratch.

Speaker 4:

But as for the Ancrub’s home, the flames hit the drapes, catching them on fire, and smoke filled the house. In the end the damage totaled $200,000.

Speaker 4:

To demonstrate just how dangerous a cooking fire can be, we enlisted the help of the Overland Park Fire Department.

Speaker 4:

In a test kitchen at the Fire Training Center.

Speaker 6:

That one’s rolling.

Speaker 4:

We set up eight cameras, five inside and three outside. Firefighters set a pot of grease on the stove and heated it up, within about eight minutes, we had our fire.

Speaker 7:

Everybody clear?

Speaker 4:

This is where so many homeowners make that crucial split second mistake, trying to move a burning pot to the sink, and pouring water on the flames. Because of the level of danger, our firefighter extended a pole with only a cup of water through a window.

Speaker 7:

Three, two, one, go.

Speaker 4:

An unbelievable fireball erupts from the pot, it roars up the ceiling, and then all the way across to the other end of the room, water proving to be the absolute worst thing you can throw on a cooking fire.

Tricia Roberts:

Well, it instantly turns to steam, so what you end up with is something like an explosion.

Speaker 4:

So what should you do to prevent an explosion of fire in your kitchen? Our expert says, first of all, never move the fire.

Speaker 4:

What happens when you move it off the stove?

Tricia Roberts:

Well, you run the risk of dropping it. Fire likes air. When you move a pan you give that fire more air, it can come back at you.

Speaker 4:

In most cases a fire can be extinguished right on the stove by using a lid.

Tricia Roberts:

You’re just going to take your lid, touch the edge of the pan, slide the lid across, and then turn off the heat.

Tricia Roberts:

It’s important that you do turn off the heat.

Speaker 4:

And never lift that lid until the pan cools. Fresh air allows the flames to reignite.

Speaker 4:

Another option, for a broader coverage, grab a cookie sheet or a pizza pan.

Tricia Roberts:

You can use a simple cookie sheet, as long as it covers the circumference of the pan, just do the same thing you did as the lid, just slide that cookie sheet right across the top, and then turn off the heat, call the fire department.

Speaker 4:

For even added safety, fire experts recommend installing these, StoveTop FireStops. These tiny cans cover two burners apiece, they hang magnetically from your hood vent.

Speaker 7:

All right, fire is lit.

Speaker 4:

We put these to the test next after starting a second grease fire.

Speaker 4:

As the flames jump and reach the can, they ignite the tiny red fuse on the bottom. The can pops open, dropping a powdered chemical to snuff out the fire.

Tricia Roberts:

It’s just like a mini fire extinguisher, only it works by itself.

Joe Ancrub:

It’s truly a good safety device.

Speaker 4:

The Ancrubs now have the StoveTop FireStops installed over their stove.

Joe Ancrub:

This would have prevented the fire having new things like this.

Julia Ancrub:

The fire department told me I could have gotten hurt, I was lucky I didn’t get hurt.

Speaker 4:

And that’s rare. In three of every five kitchen fires where someone is hurt, those injuries are the result of the victim trying to fight the fire themselves. These days Julia plays it safe when she cooks.

Julia Ancrub:

I have a cookie sheet right here, ready to smother the fire out.

Speaker 4:

Because she never wants to see this again.

Speaker 9:

Even the sound is sinister. It’s amazing, I’ve never seen anything like that.

Speaker 1:

I never would have known. No, I didn’t either. I’m afraid to say I was one of the people who probably might have put water on that.

Speaker 9:

Yeah, me too, probably.

Speaker 1:

Now, we talked about the StoveTop FireStops, these are one of those things that you can hang off of your stove.

Speaker 1:

The other thing is this thing, it’s a new product, it’s basically called a Fire Protection. It’s an aerosol can that you can spray on the fire, it actually cools it down, as well, it cools the surface to the touch. These are some of the things that the Overland Fire Department wants to say that they can’t endorse these products, these are just many things that are on the market that you can think about.

Speaker 9:

I’ve never even heard of those things.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, but they’re things you can think about if you don’t want to deal with that in your own kitchen.

Speaker 9:

And what about a fire extinguisher, we have them in our houses, most people do, is that effective as well?

Speaker 1:

I have one, I felt so grown-up when I bought it eight years ago.

Speaker 1:

It’s completely expired, I pulled it out from under the counter. Look, it would be worthless if I ever pulled it out, so if you do have one, pay attention to the information on it to make sure that it is still worked, fully charged, you can get those replaced or recharged if they run out.

Speaker 9:

Well, you can see from the little arrow thing if they’re charged, yes.

Speaker 1:

There’s a gauge, right. We’ve got a lot of information our website, several different factors to tell you about, dealing with fires, fire extinguishers, and some of the products, so you’ll find all of that at kshb.com, and when Thanksgiving Day rolls around and you’re all in the kitchen, we hope everybody’s careful.

Speaker 9:

Well, it’s great information as this big day comes.

Speaker 1:

Thanks, oh, I learned a lot.

Speaker 9:

Thank you very much. Did you see that? Yeah.

Speaker 10:

If that happened, there’s no doubt about it, I’d go get a big thing of water and just pour it on it, do you know-

Speaker 9:

No, you won’t now.

Speaker 10:

No, I won’t now.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 10:

But that’s what I would have done.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 9:

And what are you going to do?

Speaker 10:

I’m going to take a cookie sheet and smother it.

Speaker 1:

And when you-

Speaker 9:

He was listening. Very good.

Speaker 1:

And turn off the flame.

Speaker 10:

Do you know what I’m really going to do? I’m going to call 911. .

Speaker 9:

You’d run out of the house.

Speaker 1:

You could do that, too.

Speaker 9:

Take the dogs and go.

Speaker 10:

Help. All right, that’s when I get the dogs. All right, let’s see what’s going on weather-wise-

Speaker 1:

Coverage you can count on. This is FOX 2 News.

Speaker 2:

They are the most common and often the most devastating fires that firefighters and medics respond to.

Tom:

And one wrong move can make a bad situation much worse. They are the fires that start in the kitchen. And just a couple of days before one of the biggest cooking days of the year, FOX 2’s George Sells joins us with a FOX Files story you need to see. George?

George:

Well, Tom, this is a story about the kind of fire that hurts more people than any other. Similar reports had been done in other cities, but this is the first time St. Louis firefighters have taken part. It comes with a cautionary tale, as well as a look at a product that might save you from a lifetime of pain.

George:

This is what happens when you pour water on a grease fire. A terrifying moment that changed Yolanda Johnson’s life. The simple act of lighting a stove, it took Johnson’s six months to be able to do that again. Her scarred arms provide a clue of why.

Yolanda:

I don’t know what happened or how it happened, but my sleeve caught on fire and it just went woosh! The flames went woosh! And my shirt caught on fire, so I automatically took the shirt, but I automatically … then my friend was with me. She automatically threw the water in the skillet. It went everywhere. It went, like, back, up, and back.

Speaker 6:

And all over you.

Yolanda:

And all over me.

George:

Water made that grease explode. 40% of Yolanda’s upper body was covered in third and even fourth degree burns. Fourth degrees is when the burn gets through the skin to muscle and bone. First, there was shock. Then…

Yolanda:

Once the ambulance got there, that’s when I felt the first pain, and that’s the worst pain you will ever feel.

George:

Kitchen fires are the cause for more than 40% of fires in this nation, and nearly 40% of the injuries too.

Dennis:

Any type of burn injury is a horrific injury.

George:

And fire chief Dennis Jenkerson has seen plenty.

Dennis:

It’s normally a pretty substantial injury once we get there.

George:

All because when you see this, your gut says do something.

Dennis:

Go up, turn the gas off, hit the pot by accident, and spill it all over yourself. That’s the instinct. And this is going pretty good. This is hot. People are going to make mistakes in this situation, and that’s when we get called in and they’re laying on the floor.

George:

How bad is it? Just watch. A fully protected firefighter literally wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole. This one was 12 feet.

Dennis:

We’re going to expand that little cup of water about 25,000 times.

George:

Into a ball of fire.

Dennis:

If you get a fireball … you get a fireball inside the kitchen, and if you’re close to it you got your clothes, your hair. You’re burned bad.

George:

Even seven years later, as you can see watching this is hard for Yolanda.

Yolanda:

Yeah, it just brings it back. All I remember was trying to put it out, wanting to put it out. How are we going to put it out? Thinking we need to put it out.

George:

We’ve been taught to turn off the burner and cover it, but what about taking human reaction out of this altogether? This little canister is called the StoveTop FireStop. You saw what happened when water hit the fire. Now watch what happens when this little gadget, the FireStop, is triggered. With a flash of chemical, the fire is all but gone.

Yolanda:

Wow. Yeah. I’d love one of those.

George:

And there are at least a dozen municipalities around the country that now require these in some homes, usually apartments, or are considering it. Here in St. Louis, fire officials would like to see a UL product certification for the FireStop before making an endorsement. But they can see a benefit.

Dennis:

It might be one of those things that you don’t have to worry about. You don’t have to grab. You don’t have to activate. It’s automatic. If you have a fire extinguisher in your house, you have to remember to grab the fire extinguisher, pull the pin, aim it, and hopefully you won’t aim a directly into the grease and splatter the grease all over.

George:

For Yolanda, it was about learning to deal with scars.

Yolanda:

The scarring is … we’ve got video with the scarring inside and out.

George:

And finding the strength to cope with her own tragedy.

Yolanda:

It’s just not there at the time you need it to be there.

George:

We have a lot of information on our website, FOX2now.com, including raw video from these fires, and an extensive photo gallery as well. And if you are interested in the StoveTop FireStop, we actually have a contest on our website to give a few of them away. You have from now until Sunday to register. Just head to FOX2now.com and look for it on the FOX Files webpage. George Sells, FOX 2 News.

Speaker 1:

If your chip pan catches fire, don’t panic. Just follow these instructions. One, turn off the heat. Two, run a cloth under a tap and wring it out. Three, cover the pan and then wait until it’s cooled right down. Don’t try and move the pan and whatever you do, don’t throw water over the fire. The effects can be devastating.

Julie Luck:

Well do not trust your instincts. The right way to battle a flame? This one does not involve water. The tricks you need to know and what you definitely do not want to try.

Speaker 2:

Ooh.

Frank Mickens:

Wow. Did you see that? Well, our 2 Wants To Know crew working with the Greensboro Fire Department to show you what water does on a grease fire and it’s pretty scary and looking.

Julie Luck:

Very frightening. Well, 2 Wants To Know’s Tanya Rivera was right next to the photographer when that happened.

Tanya Rivera:

I have to tell you, I don’t have words to describe how scared I was when that fire exploded and we were right there on the other side. None of us expected that that was going to happen. But that’s really the whole point of this story. Lots of families don’t expect a fire to happen in their homes.

Tanya Rivera:

If you don’t think pouring water on a grease fire is dangerous, you might think this firefighter is over dressed for this experiment.

Tanya Rivera:

You would be wrong. Check it out in slow motion. Watch as the fire explodes, hitting the ceiling and then rolling over the room.

Speaker 5:

You see what happens. When that fire comes up, if you’re standing right in front of it, then you’re fully involved. You’re in your own fire at the end.

Tanya Rivera:

Greensboro firefighters, they knew we shouldn’t be in the room when they put water on the fire. You can see our camera’s reflection in the window. All of us though were surprised when the next couple of water was poured out.

Speaker 6:

You all right, Fred?

Fred:

Yeah.

Tanya Rivera:

The video needs no explanation, but how to keep this from happening does, because most of our instincts are wrong. The right way to put out a grease fire is to smother it.

Fire Fighter:

Quickest thing to do, grab your pot holder, make sure you have a long one. Find your lid. Going to take this lid, slide it over the top of the pot, turn the burner off. Leave it 15-20 minutes.

Fire Fighter:

Now, if I take this lid off too quick, what happens? You’re backup again.

Tanya Rivera:

If getting this close to the fire just scares you, Greensboro Fire has found a $50 fix, the StoveTop FireStop canister. A magnet holds it in place.

Fire Fighter:

Then the flame is going to hit this. It’s going to pop this can, and then you’re going to have a baking soda type material that’s been finely sifted that is gravity fed and it’s going to come down and extinguish that fire even without you in the room.

Tanya Rivera:

We’re not the only ones who wanted to see if it worked. Representatives from the Greensboro Housing Authority and a local apartment complex, watch it too.

Fire Fighter:

And it’ll burn it until it pops.

Tanya Rivera:

The fire starts to build and we start the clock. 30 seconds in, the flames reached the overhead, and 15 seconds later…

Tanya Rivera:

The fire is out, less than a minute from when it started.

Speaker 9:

And we watched it for another 10 minutes or so to see if the fire would reignite, and it didn’t. So the product does work.

Tanya Rivera:

And the product works a whole lot better than that cup of water on the grease fire. Wow. What a difference. And it could be the difference between life and death. The Greensboro Housing Authority is buying this StoveTop FireStop for every single one of its units. The hope is to protect the people inside those units and the $65 million in assets that your tax money pays for.

Julie Luck:

Well the StoveTop FireStop is about 50 bucks. You can find it at many Lowe’s Home Improvement stores and you can find a map featured in this web story where you can see the store nearest you. You can also get the FireStop online.

Frank Mickens:

Yeah, and if you’re thinking 50 bucks sounds like a lot of money for something like that, we’ve also posted a demo of what it looks like if you just stick with using regular baking soda. And the hint here is, it ain’t good. Check it out on wfmynews2.com.

Julie Luck:

That video. Wow.

Frank Mickens:

Told the story, didn’t it?

Frank Mickens:

Still five things you need to know before you go to bed tonight.

Speaker 1:

Next.

Casey Roman:

This little cam packs a big punch. Keeping your house from burning down, keeping your family alive.

Speaker 1:

Now find out if the Fire Stop extinguisher really works when American Now returns.

Leeza Gibbons:

Do you like to cook at home?

Bill Rancic:

I know you do.

Leeza Gibbons:

Yes I do.

Bill Rancic:

Those gourmet meals.

Leeza Gibbons:

You should know cooking fires though are the number one cause of house fires and related injuries and the biggest culprit, stoves and ovens left on attended.

Bill Rancic:

But there’s one product hanging around that might be able to help, the Stove Top Fire Stop. It’s like a fire extinguisher in a can and it might just save your life. Watch this.

Casey Roman:

Cooking dinner can turn into a disaster when grease gets enough heat and enough time to ignite a small flame and soon a stove top inferno all in just the few minutes you step away from that hot pan. That scenario devastates thousands of homes and lives every year except in the kitchens where a small device called Stove Top Fire Stop kills the flames. It’s essentially a fire extinguisher in a can.

Casey Roman:

A magnet holds it tight and out of sight inside the vent hood right above the burners. No fear of false alarms, the Fire Stop will only open when flames start kissing the bottom of the can. Even if a person is nowhere near the stove, they’ll know there’s a fire by the noise. Comparable to a gunshot that pop in the metal has the fortunate side effect of waking people up, getting their attention and saving their life.

Brent Sobol:

I would not own the apartment community without these.

Casey Roman:

After years of watching cooking fires destroy units and entire buildings, landlord Brent Sobol decided to install Fire Stops in every kitchen. 50 have gone off in the past five years, but instead of costing him hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, a fire started in a pan now only costs him a new stove and a few cabinets.

Brent Sobol:

This is one of the most unbelievable things that has ever been created for the apartment industry because it works.

Casey Roman:

While strictly designed for residential stove top fires, keep in mind the fire stop is still just a supplement.

Lane Bradford:

This doesn’t take the place of good common sense.

Casey Roman:

Firefighters say never leave the stove unattended. The Fire Stop can act as a first line of defense but one that first responders hope you’ll never actually have to use. Casey Roman, American Now.

Bill Rancic:

So check this out. There are actually different types of fire extinguishers for putting out different kinds of fires. Make sense I guess.

Leeza Gibbons:

I didn’t know this but FEMA recognizes five classes of fire extinguisher, not all of them are right for your home.

Bill Rancic:

For more information on that, including the right way to use a fire extinguisher link up with us at americanownews.com.