Important video (short) to watch for all us foodies

[NMDemDist2]

WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT DO WHAT THE GUY IN THE VIDEO DOES!

This is a powerful message----watch the video and don't forget what you see. Tell your whole family about this video. Or better yet, send this to them.

This is a dramatic video about how to deal with a common kitchen fire ... oil in a frying pan. Please read the following introduction and then watch the show .. It's a real eye-opener !!

At the Fire Fighting Training school they would demonstrate this with a deep fat fryer set on the fire field. An instructor would don a fire suit and using an 8-oz cup at the end of a 10-foot pole toss water onto the grease fire. The results got the attention of the students.

The water, being heavier than the oil, sinks to the bottom where it instantly becomes superheated. The explosive force of the steam blows the burning oil up and out. On the open field, it became a thirty foot high fireball that resembled a nuclear blast. Inside the confines of a kitchen, the fire ball hits the ceiling and fills the entire room.

Also, do not throw sugar or flour on a grease fire. One cup creates the explosive force of two sticks of dynamite.

http://www.videosift.com/video/Kitchen-Oil-Fire-gone-terribly-wrong

[kestrel91316]

1. I'd just throw a kitchen towel on it and then grab the fire extinguisher out of the

broom closet. I'd never put water anywhere NEAR anything burning on a stove - the electricity alone makes that a no-no.

[catnhatnh]

2. Also never confuse baking soda with baking powder....

I saw that in a hospital kitchen once and I assure you that baking powder (which contains corn starch) is a piss poor fire retardant...

[Warpy]

3. That's one thing my non cook mother taught me in the kitchen

and that is to keep a lid handy when frying anything. She loved bacon and I guess she'd started a few fires over the years.

I have had a few minor conflagrations in woks when I've added wine before soy sauce (oops, nobody's perfect) but they were short lived because that cover was always right there and ready to slam on top.

Baking soda is the only other way to deal with a grease fire but it's unsatisfying and ruins the food when you use enough to smother the oil.

I have a fire extinguisher close to the stove but I've never had to use it.

[Tab]

4. I've only had to deal with this once or twice

but a box of Arm & Hammer is invaluable, as long as it occurs to you to reach for it.

Fires need a combustible substance, and oxygen.

Water can degrade the combustible substance, but as we know, water and oil don't mix, so you can spread the fire or danger if you do it improperly.

Killing the oxygen, however, is different. You could also douse it with sand, except people don't normally keep sand in the kitchen.

A&H works pretty well. On the few occasions I've needed it (mainly, drippings in the oven that caught fire, and I didn't want to ruin the oven) it is great.

I have heard, though, albeit not experienced it, that some people have tossed flour onto a flame and in the right circumstances (not sure which) the flour catches fire, and being airborne, is the equivalent of exploding.

So I keep some A&H in the cabinet, and the big trick is really just to remember to use it.

[NashVegas]

5. I Was Taught to Use Baking Soda or a Lid

If it was in a pot/pan.

[elleng]

6. SALT!

SALT CONTAINER AT STOVE TOP!