How to Extinguish a Skillet Fire

In this article you will learn how to safely and effectively extinguish a cooking oil fire in a skillet. Cooking fires involving cooking oil, fat or grease are one of the most common types of fires in many communities in the USA. Anyone who is cooking with oil, grease or fat should give that task their undivided attention: it only takes a minute for the combustible liquid--and that's what those substances really are--to get too hot and subsequently ignite into flame.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Skillet
• Proper fitting lid for skillet or cookie sheet or flat baking pan

1. Move pan to a cool element or burner If the content of the skillet ignite into flame, gently move the skillet off the burner or electric cooking element. Turn off the burner or hot element.
2. Gently move lid from one side of skillet to completely cover the fire Take the skillet lid--or if you don't have a lid, a cookie sheet or other flat pan--and gently slide the lid from one side of the skillet to the other until the skillet is completely covered. DO NOT bring the lid in from above the skillet: the free-burning flame can burn your hand or arm; the downward force of air created by the the lid coming down can cause the fire to "blow out" of the skillet or splash hot oil out of the pan.
3. Do not immediately remove the lid to check if the fire is out and do not try to move the pan to the sink or out of the house. Leave the lid in place for at least five minutes; waiting until both the skillet and lid are cool to the touch is even better.

Tips & Warnings

• Always have a lid that fits the skillet you are using, or a cookie sheet or other flat baking dish on the counter and ready for use when cooking with oil, grease or fat.
• Always pay close attention to the cooking process when cooking with oil, fat, or grease. Getting distracted for only a minute--answering the phone or doorbell or checking on the children in the next room--may be all it takes for the pan to catch fire.
• Have a fire extinguisher, rated ABC, easily accessible to the kitchen, but away from the stove for use if covering the pan does not work, or if the fire has already spread to the kitchen cabinets, drapes, etc.
• If the liquid in the pan starts smoking in any way, reduce the heat under the pan immediately: it only takes a few more degrees of heat for the liquid to reach its ignition temperature and that means FIRE!
• Never use water on a skillet fire as it will splatter the burning liquid and spread the fire to other surfaces.
• Never use flour on a skillet fire as the flour's dust-sized particles will burn rapidly.
• Never try to move the skillet from the stove to the sink or out of the house. The hot skillet handle may cause you to drop the skillet in to the floor, spreading flaming liquid across the kitchen floor. If you dump the contents into the sink, the flaming liquid can ignite kitchen drapes over the sink or adjacent wooden cabinets.