What happens when you pour water on a grease fire?
What Happens When Water is Thrown on a Cooking Grease Fire?
- Water on a Grease Fire. Burning grease is hot: hotter what's needed to fry bacon, hot enough to have burst into flame. ...
- Flame Thrower. Water on grease fire is bad. ...
- Instead of Dousing with Water. Think about it ahead of time. ...
- You're Too Important. ...
Why not to pour water on a grease fire?
- Water is heavier than oil, so it sinks.
- The oil is at a temperature that is much hotter than the boiling point of water, so the water, now below the surface of the oil, flashes into steam.
- This explosion blows the oil up into the air where it mixes with oxygen and rapidly burns.
Can Grease fires be safely taken out with water?
Oil and water don’t share the same density, which is why water can’t be used to put out a grease fire. In fact, water that gets thrown on a grease fire can turn to steam very quickly due to the fire’s high temperature. It can cause the steam can carry the flames to other surfaces, igniting the fire in surrounding areas.
How to safely put out a grease fire?
What's the Best Way to Safely Put Out a Grease Fire?
- Do not use water. One of the most important things to remember is to never pour water onto a grease fire. ...
- Smother the fire. If the fire is small enough, a simple smothering will be enough to allow you to move on with your cooking.
- Use baking soda or salt. ...
- Use a proper fire extinguisher. ...
What is the best way to put out a grease fire?
Cover the Pot with a Metal Lid - Fire cannot exist in the absence of oxygen. With the lid on (and the heat off), the fire should quickly consume all the oxygen and put itself out. Use a metal lid since glass will shatter. Pour on Baking Soda - Baking soda will extinguish grease fires, but only if they're small.
What happens when water hits hot grease?
Oil is less dense than water so when water is thrown in a burning pan full of grease, it immediately goes under the grease to the extremely hot surface of the pan. This turns the water to steam instantly, not before rapidly expanding to 1700 times its original size. “That very quickly pushes all the oil out of the pan.
Can water make fire worse?
Water Makes Grease Fires Worse Throwing water on the fire can cause burning grease to splash, which can make the fire spread and potentially harm bystanders. It is dangerous to move a pan or pot of burning oil for the same reasons.
Does water put out fire?
Water cools and smothers the fire at the same time. It cools it so much that it can't burn anymore, and it smothers it so that it can't make any more of the oxygen in the air explode. You can also put out a fire by smothering it with dirt, sand, or any other covering that cuts the fire off from its oxygen source.
Can pouring water in hot grease cause a fire?
Do NOT pour water on the fire! Since oil and water do not mix, pouring water can cause the oil to splash and spread the fire even worse. In fact, the vaporizing water can also carry grease particles in it, which can also spread the fire.
Does water in hot oil cause a fire?
Water will sink to the bottom of oil pan due to density difference. Sinking water will vaporize instantly into steam and expand rapidly in volume. Then, oil is explosively expelled in all directions. If there is a fire source, the small oil droplets are then ignited to give a big fire.
Why must water never be poured into boiling fat?
Oils and fats not have any polar part and so for them to dissolve in water they would have to break some of water s hydrogen bonds. Water will not do this so the oil is forced to stay separate from the water.
Can you pour hot grease in the sink?
In reality, grease should never go down the drain. Even if it's hot and easy to pour out of the pan, it will eventually cool and solidify somewhere in your plumbing. This causes a gummy, goopy mess to form along the pipe walls, trapping other debris that flows down the drain.
What to do if you have a grease fire?
Instead of Dousing with Water. Think about it ahead of time. In the back of your mind, even before starting to cook, have an idea of what you'll do in case of a grease fire. Don't move the burning pan. If, while you're trying to move the fire, grease sloshes out, the sloshed out burning grease becomes another fire to take care of.
How to keep grease from burning?
If, while you're trying to move the fire, grease sloshes out, the sloshed out burning grease becomes another fire to take care of. Cover the pan using a lid that fits. Covering the pan at least cuts the oxygen to the fire and stops the flame. Turn off the heat; the pan is already too hot.
What happens when you throw water on a fire?
What Happens When Water is Thrown on a Cooking Grease Fire? When water is thrown into a pan of burning cooking grease, the water bursts into steam and throws the flaming grease all over the kitchen. Instead of throwing water onto burning grease to put out the fire, put a pan lid on the pan to extinguish the flames.
What happens when water sloshes grease?
It's not like the water just sloshes the grease out of the pan, spreading the grease fire; the water , as it hits the burning grease, bursts into steam. It violently throws liquid fire (burning grease) in all directions, including straight up. This is a ball of fire.
What to do if you put a lid on a pan?
Keep in mind though, if you think there's any danger to you, or if, after putting a lid on the pan, the fire continues, get out of there and call the fire department. You're too important to risk getting burned.
Is burning grease hot?
Burning grease is hot: hotter what's needed to fry bacon, hot enough to have burst into flame. Throw water onto frying bacon, and grease splatters all over the place; throw water onto grease that's burning, and burning grease splatters all over the place.
When Does Grease Catch Fire?
Leaving the stove unattended while cooking is a leading cause of home cooking fires.
How to keep grease fires from spreading?
Small, contained grease fires can usually be handled without assistance from the fire department. Always avoid splashing burning grease by moving the pan or using water. This can keep the fire from spreading. Use a metal lid or cookie sheet to seal off air, or extinguish the fire with salt or baking soda. If you aren't sure what to do, or if the fire becomes out of control, call 911.
How to extinguish grease fire?
However, note that you need large quantities of salt or baking soda to fully extinguish a grease fire. It's sometimes easier and more effective to quickly find a lid and cover the fire instead.
How to smother a grease fire?
The easiest way to smother a grease fire is to cover it with a pan lid. Be careful with glass lids; they can break from the extreme heat of an open flame. Grease fires can also be smothered with baking soda, but it takes a lot of baking soda to do the trick. Unless the baking soda is easily accessible, it's usually easier to quickly find a lid.
How to cut off oxygen from grease?
The easiest way to cut off oxygen to a grease fire is to cover it with a metal pan lid or baking sheet. Using metal tongs to put the lid in place can keep your arms and hands out of harm's way. Do not use a fabric oven mitt because the material may catch fire and you could get hurt.
Why is baking soda used in fires?
Baking soda is effective because it releases carbon dioxide when heated, which can smother the fire.
Why is grease fire dangerous?
Grease fires are extremely dangerous because the fuel source (the grease) is a liquid that can easily splash and spread, particularly if you dump water on it. They can quickly spread to cabinets or other flammable areas of the kitchen. Nearly 10% of residential cooking fires spread and cause significant damage to the home. 1
