# BIL had a Grease Fire



## MishMouse (Aug 28, 2012)

My brother in law had a grease fire at his house on Sunday, one of his daughters left some grease on the stove and caused a fire.  Apparently she thought the burner was off before she left the house.   When her sister returned to the house it was full of smoke, it was smoking for quite some time before she arrived.  She went into the house (very bad idea) and took the smoldering grease pan she got herself splattered with some grease (was more of a tar state). 

Note: She did get into trouble for going into the house instead of just going to the neighbors and calling 911.  A house can be replaced but not a life.

*Questions:*
What would you get rid of the smell of a grease fire?
Out of clothes?
Furniture?
House?

Like stated above the grease had to have been smoking for some time before it was caught.  They are thinking it could have been burning for 2-3 hours before someone got there. 

A few miracles did happen:
1) The teenage girls entering the house when it was smoke filled didn't die
2) The house didn't catch on fire
3) The girl who handled he grease didn't get life threathing burns.


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## Adios Pantalones (Aug 28, 2012)

I would use Lestoil as a detergent, and then rewash clothes with baking soda, line dry. Steam clean whatever you can with one of those smell reducer washes meant for pet odors. Baking soda is good for what ails ya in most cases, but a lot of open windows will be a good remedy of course.

editL: the wash made for hunting clothes might be good as well.


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## pen (Aug 28, 2012)

From those that I know who have had similar things happen, these events often end in needing to get the insurance company and a professional cleaning service involved. 

Very glad to hear everyone is ok. 

pen


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## Jags (Aug 28, 2012)

Yep, there is a reason that there are pro services for just this type of thing.  It can be a bear to get it all. 
In my case, when I had a grease fire, my house had the chance to air out for 3 weeks while I was laying in a hospital bed.


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## firefighterjake (Aug 28, 2012)

Echoing . . . professional services and contacting the insurance company may be the best bet.

Otherwise . . . TSP and baking soda and/or steam cleaning to clean off "soft" surfaces like laundry, couch, carpeting, etc. Airing out the house . . .

---

I know I should be good and not "lecture" . . . and I am sure the poor girl has already received a million lectures already . . . but in the interest of public safety and possibly preventing a future injury from readers here . . .

100,000 cooking fires each year . . . mostly from cooking with grease on the stove top.

Interesting fact: (At least for me): Day with the most cooking fires in the U.S. = Thanksgiving (perhaps not surprisingly).

Interesting fact #2: More cooking fires occur with electric ranges vs. gas ranges.

Biggest way to prevent cooking fires from occuring = watch what you cook. I tell folks that while it is a good idea to watch the water you are boiling for spaghetti or the cookies in the oven, it is far, far more important to be in the kitchen to monitor the cooking if you are frying up anything (eggs, hamburger, bacon, french fries, etc.) instead of "maximizing" your time by cleaning the house, watching TV, reading the latest posts on hearth.com, etc. If you are in the kitchen and the food starts to catch on fire and starts smoking you can react quickly and turn down the heat and prevent a fire . . . vs. not noticing things until the fire has ignited the upper cabinets on fire.

Best way to extinguish a cooking fire on the stove . . . and it's not to use an extinguisher, believe it or not . . . use a tight-fitting lid and cover the pan, turn off the heat and let it sit there for 5-15 minutes to cool down before removing the lid. Removing the lid too soon can result in a fire if there is still sufficient heat and a fuel source -- putting the lid on it only removes the oxygen, so taking off the lid can reintroduce the oxygen and then you're back to Square 1 . . . minus the burned eyebrows. If you're like me and have lids, but they're buried in the back cabinets somewhere use a cookie sheet or other similar item to completely cover the top of the pan.

Things not to do:

You know that water spigot that looks like a fire hose beside the sink? Don't use it . . . unless you want to live dangerously and see just how high you can make the flames shoot up.

Smother the pan with a dish cloth . . . some folks say you can use a wet dish towel . . . personally I'm not a fan of putting anything combustible on a fire regardless of whether it is wet or not . . . mostly because folks forget the important part about it being wet.

Dump it down the sink . . . chances of it splashing up when it hits the sink.

Throw it out the window and start the neighbor's lawn on fire . . . that one was a classic . . . I still like telling folks in my classes about the person that did this.

The thing most people do wrong . . . attempt to move it outside and they take the pan for a guided tour in the house as they walk it from the kitchen to the dining room into the living room, down the hall, on to the covered porch and then outside . . . problem is a) they grab hold of the pan, take a few steps and realize it's wicked hot and they drop the flaming pan of grease on the kitchen floor, b) they use an oven mitt so they don't get burned, grab hold of the pan, take a few steps and realize as they are walking briskly towards the front door that the flames are heading towards their shirt and they don't want to die a fiery death so they drop the pan of flaming liquids on to the dining room floor or c) they use an oven mitt and hold the pan away from them so their clothing doesn't catch on fire and in the process of giving the pan a tour of the house they end up spilling the liquid all over the house in a neat trail of fire from the kitchen to the front door.

What about baking soda? Baking soda is the most common chemical in the BC-rated fire extinguishers which are commonly sold as home kitchen fire extinguishers (often painted white with the big ol' words KITCHEN FIRE EXTINGUISHER on the side). Baking soda will work, but a) your hand may be right above the flames which could be flaring up, b) if you haven't used the baking soda in a while it may be coming out in chunks which can drop into the pan and splash flaming liquid out on to the floor, counter, you, etc., c) people panic and remember there is something white in the house that can put out grease fires but they cannot remember if it is baking soda or baking powder . .. or sugar . . . or salt . . . or cocaine . . . salt will not be all that bad . . . but throw fine flour on a fire in the right air to flour ratio (and it's not all that hard to do) and you can catch the grains of flour all on fire at the same time and sometimes even cause a mini explosion (something to try at your next bon fire . . . and yes, I am kidding) . . . plus d) if you use baking soda on the chicken that you were frying the meal is ruined, but if you use the pan method you can save the meal by telling everyone you opted to make Cajun blackened chicken.

What about extinguishers? Sure . . . but only as a last resort. They are expensive to recharge, make one helluva mess in the kitchen . . . not to mention there is a small possibility of things going from bad to worse if you blow the fire on to the floor.

OK, enough rambling . . . sorry . . . sometimes what I do in the real world bleeds through here . . . it is more than work to me . . . it is my passion.

--

P.S. Glad to hear things worked out well for the girl and family though  . . . it may not seem like it . . .but this truly had a happy ending.


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## MishMouse (Aug 28, 2012)

+1 googleplex

On a side note about 5-6 years ago this same family had a grease fire and father took the grease and threw it out the door.  The problem was this same daughter that got burnt was sitting outside at the time.  Very bad situation for him and his daughter, she spent months in the hospital.


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## jeff_t (Aug 28, 2012)

MishMouse said:


> On a side note about 5-6 years ago this same family had a grease fire and father took the grease and threw it out the door.  The problem was this same daughter that got burnt was sitting outside at the time.  Very bad situation for him and his daughter, she spent months in the hospital.



Yikes.

Nice post, Jake.
We were dispatched for a fire on the stove a few years ago. Was upgraded to a working fire a couple minutes later, after the homeowner grabbed an extinguisher and blasted flaming oil all over the kitchen. Fire damage was confined to the kitchen, but the entire condo was a black nasty mess. 
In another incident, one of my wife's friends attempted to take the flaming pot outside. She actually made it, but ended up burning both of her hands, badly. They are healed now, but for months her husband had to do things for her that we would rather not discuss....


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## Backwoods Savage (Aug 28, 2012)

Definitely the insurance needs to get involved. But it was asked about how to remove odors.

The very best thing I have found for removing odors is carbon dust. Just a couple examples:

1. Used by hunters to reduce or remove scent.

2. A couple times our garbage cans got pretty smelly. So bad when you opened the lid you stood back! I put about 2 teaspoons of carbon dust in the cans. Next morning there was no smell at all.

I get the stuff from Brauker Biotech:   www.scentbuster.com  or you can email at  drjim@scentbuster.com  I have not checked the price since our last purchase which was last fall and it was then $14.95.


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## swagler85 (Aug 28, 2012)

Kilz primer will seal smells in the walls. That's what the pros used in our neighbors house. Also worked wonders hiding nicotine stains on walls in the house I bought.


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## greg13 (Aug 30, 2012)

If you can find some Husky 400 by Canniberra corp. it works wonders killing odors. You may have to google it or contact the company to find a source near you.


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## tfdchief (Aug 31, 2012)

firefighterjake said:


> Echoing . . . professional services and contacting the insurance company may be the best bet.
> 
> Otherwise . . . TSP and baking soda and/or steam cleaning to clean off "soft" surfaces like laundry, couch, carpeting, etc. Airing out the house . . .
> 
> ...


Great post!  Worth quoting.


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