Fuel For Thought

Water Does Not Work On Grease Fires

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires in the United States. And grease fires are a main culprit.

On The Early Show Wednesday, consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen showed the "Dos" and "Don'ts" of extinguishing grease fires.

Bottom line: DON'T use water -- it only makes things worse.

A dry and chemical-based fire extinguisher is the best on grease fires.

It takes only a few minutes for a small grease fire to flare up and consume an entire home.

Cooking fires cause more than 480 fire deaths each year, and nearly $900 million in property damage.

To see first-hand just how out-of-control grease fires can get, Koeppen went to the State Farm Insurance technology research lab outside Chicago.

State Farm researcher John Donovan told her, "Not many people know how to handle a kitchen fire and what to do if one were to start."

Donovan is an expert in grease fires and, with firefighters standing by, he demonstrated what not to do when it comes to kitchen fires.

He threw a small cup of water on a small grease fire in a pan on a stove, and the flames doubled in size almost instantly.

"Absolutely," Donovan says, "the worst thing you can do to a grease fire is throw water of any sort on it, any amount, anything. Not water."

He also demonstrated what throwing a wet towel on a fire would do. Again, the flames shot up.

He said this action could result in the pan being pulled off the stove and its burning contents onto the floor or the person attempting to put out the fire.

"So, you're causing more problems than you're trying to solve."

Even using a water-based fire extinguisher can have disastrous results. Flames shot to the ceiling during the experiment.

The pair explained a dry chemical fire extinguisher specifically designed to deal with grease is the best thing to have in a kitchen.

"You want to put that fire out at the base. If you put it up high, the chemical falls on top of the fire and doesn't do a bit of good," Donavon explained.

If the flames are small enough, carefully put a lid on the pan, and turn off the heat. But, Donovan quickly cautions that you shouldn't try to move the pan, because: "Many people get burns or start fires elsewhere as they're trying to take that pan get it outside."

The demonstration also proved how removing the lid too quickly could re-ignite the fire.

If a grease fire is left alone, even for a few minutes, your whole kitchen can go up in flames, then the rest of your house, Koeppen observed.

From the time a grease fire starts, how long do you realistically have to try to put it out on your own?

Not very, Donovan says: "Once a fire lights, you have 30 seconds-to-a-minute of opportunity, probably. If you can get it within the first 30 seconds, say you were standing in the room when it happened, you could probably get a lid on it and put it out."

If you have a kitchen fire, the first thing you should do is call 911 before you try to battle it on your own, Koeppen advises.

She says you should have fire extinguishers in or near your kitchen. If you have a traditional one, look on the front, and make sure it says "ABC," so you'll know it will work on everything -- wood, paper, grease, electrical equipment.

One Koeppen had on the set sells for $20.

She also pointed to a smaller, white one you could put it in a corner. People won't notice it, if that matters to you and you don't want a red one in your kitchen.

Both are made by First Alert.

Another possibility is First Alert's "Tundra.

"It's a spray bottle," Koeppen says. "People are intimidated about pulling the pin and using a fire extinguisher. All you do is spray (the Tundra." It costs $15 and is effective against wood fires, grease fires, electrical equipment fires, etc. It's only 22 ounces and you can easily keep it in a cabinet."

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