Speaker 1:
In high definition, this is KCAL 9 News at Noon.
Speaker 2:
Kitchen fires are the leading cause of house fires in the United States. They kill hundreds of people every year. KCAL 9’s, Susan Koeppen shows us now the dos and don’ts of putting out a kitchen fire.
Susan Koeppen:
It doesn’t take long for a small cooking fire to become a raging inferno.
Speaker 4:
Apartment 525’s stove is on fire.
Susan Koeppen:
Kitchen fires are responsible for more than 400 deaths and more than 5,000 injuries each year.
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 Zieglar admits he did the wrong thing when oil for his chicken wings caught fire. Jason says he grabbed the burning pot and tried to get it out the door.
Jason Ziegler:
Yeah I picked it up and it was-
Jason Ziegler:
That’s when it flashed over and caught my arm and I dropped the pot. The skin actually started coming down, it 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. We’re about to show you the dos and don’ts of handling a kitchen fire.
Speaker 6:
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.
Susan Koeppen:
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. The blast is so intense it rips the curtains off the window.
Susan Koeppen:
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.
Susan Koeppen:
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:
So I’m going to go ahead and throw this.
Susan Koeppen:
The towel just pushes the flames hire out the back.
Susan Koeppen:
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.
Speaker 10:
Extinguish the fire in the same manner.
Susan Koeppen:
You can also use a fire extinguisher made for grease fires, like this easy to use spray can called Tundra.
Speaker 5:
[crosstalk 00:02:53] on the back of the stove on the wall. [crosstalk 00:02:52]. 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.
Susan Koeppen:
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 is 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.
Susan Koeppen:
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:
Happens every day. You have to be prepared. You have to know what to do in the event of a fire.
Speaker 2:
Knowing how to put out a kitchen fire can certainly save your life, and your home. Every home should have smoke detectors, they can warn others in the house if a cooking fire gets out of control.
Speaker 11:
All right, who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch…
