Topic Posted by: Oakdale Oldtimer
Date Posted: Thu Oct 29 10:04:00 2009
Additional Comments: Most of us know that you're not supposed to try to put out a grease fire with water. But maybe you, like me, just assumed that doing so would result in splattering and you could get a few burns from hot grease--reason enough not to do it, but the reality is much more frightening.
On the TV show Mythbusters, the hosts showed what happens if even a cup of water is poured on a pan of burning grease. The result was an ENORMOUS fireball. Flames shot over twenty feet into the air and would have completely engulfed anyone standing in the kitchen.
It was so terrifying that I felt compelled to tell everyone I know, because it's easy to imagine someone faced with a grease fire (the most common kind of house fire), panicking if they didn't have a fire extinguisher at hand, and thinking that water is better than nothing. Don't do it! Tell your children, your grandchildren, and anyone else you know how dangerous this could be.
Here is the first six minutes of the episodes in which you can see what happens if you pour a cup of water on two quarts of flaming oil. Later on they put just a teaspoon of water on eight teaspoons of oil and still got a pretty big fireball.
Posted by: Suellen Date posted: Thu Oct 29 13:34:56 2009
Message: Found this in Google.com about water on a grease fire-
(I noticed the fire "blew" upward violently, and I wondered "could pouring water on a grease fore actually release they hydrogen from the water?"
The previous answer was correct, but maybe not complete enough.
If you throw water on a grease fire in a pan, the water will boil violently (into steam) in the hot pan. This violent boiling will fling droplets of burning oil everywhere.)
Posted by: Sammie Date posted: Thu Oct 29 11:40:15 2009
Message: Grease fires are bad. Another thing to warn people about is never try to carry the grease fire outside. If you don't have a fire extinguisher, or enough salt or baking soda to put the fire out, call the fire department. Our neighbors teenage daughter carried a burning skillet outside and she was burned on her arms and face. She is in her thirties now and she still has scars from it.
