So, You're Going to Deep-Fry That Turkey...
The Hinesburg Fire Department urges caution during the sometimes chaotic cooking scene over the holidays. Rule one: Don't pour water on a grease fire. And do you have a fire extinguisher?
Record Staff Report
The other day the Hinesburg Fire Department filmed this demonstration of what happens when you pour water on a stove-top grease fire. Disaster in the making.
As you cook, cook, cook for the holidays, the kitchen can be chaotic and dangerous. HFD urges people to have a fire extinguisher handy, to use caution and do that deep-fry turkey outside away from the house.
HFD Chief Prescott Nadeau offers these cautions:
“Thanksgiving is a time for family and celebration, but it’s also one of the busiest days of the year for cooking fires,” he said, adding that things can go wrong very quickly – “and how easily most of these fires can be prevented.
“Cooking remains one of the leading causes of home fires and fire injuries. Most of these start with everyday activities in the kitchen, not unusual or extreme situations.”
The biggest risks, he notes are these:
“Unattended cooking, distractions, and too much going on in a small space – kids, pets, guests, and hot surfaces all at once;
“Grease and oil heat up faster than people realize; once a pan ignites, fire can spread to cabinets and curtains in seconds; and
“Many people panic and use the wrong method to put out a fire – like throwing water on a grease fire – which actually makes it explode outward and spread.”
HFD offers these simple prevention tips
Stay in the kitchen; if you have to leave the room, even for a minute, turn the burner off.
Keep anything that can burn – towels, oven mitts, paper, food packaging – at least three feet away from the stove.
Use the back burners when possible, and turn pot handles inward so kids and pets can’t bump them.
If you’re feeling tired, have been drinking, or are taking medication that makes you drowsy, rethink whether now is the time to start cooking a big meal.
What to do if a cooking fire starts:
If a small grease fire starts in a pan, slide a lid over it, turn off the burner and leave the lid in place until it completely cools; don’t pick up the pan;
Never use water on a grease fire;
If the fire is in the oven, keep the door closed, turn off the heat, and call 9-1-1 if you’re at all unsure; and
If the fire is growing or you feel unsafe, get everyone out, close the door behind you, and call 9-1-1 from outside. As Nadeau puts it: “We can replace a kitchen; we can’t replace a life.”