Friday, January 29, 2010

Ways to Prevent Grease Fires

By Jeffrey Jackson

Grease fires can start quickly and spread just as fast. Grease fires often spread even more when people are trying to put them out. The best way to protect your kitchen and home from a grease fire is to prevent them.

Most oil is not meant to be cooked at really high temperatures. Heat up all oil slowly. Oil has the possibility for bursting in to flames if heated too quickly at too high a temperature.

Be careful that your working area is clear before you heat your oil. Be sure that everything is moved out of the way before cooking with oil. If something is placed too close to a stovetop it can start a fire, which then can be made worse when it ignites with the grease in the pan.

Take care to place food into oil slowly and carefully. Don't dump food into oil that is already hot. Heated oil splatters enough on its own, so placing food into it will cause higher eruptions of oil and can cause burns or worse.

Don't ever leave heating oil unattended. Accidents can happen quickly, so it's important to stay nearby and watch your oil carefully. Never leave the kitchen when cooking with oil.

If you use a deep fryer, don't place the chord in a place where it can be snagged. You wouldn't want the contents of the fryer to spill out on to items or people. Be careful where you place the chord.

Make preparations in case a grease fire does happen. Oven mitts and the correct sized lid for your pan should always be out when cooking with oil. If a grease fire does start, the oven mitts will protect your hands and the lid will stop the fire from getting worse.

Be sure that it is the proper sized lid. The lid is meant to squall the fire because it won't have oxygen for the fire to continue. Once the lid is over the fire, you can use your oven mitts to turn off the burner. Don't try to turn it off before this.

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