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.
