FIRE - what would you do, are you prepared?

[breezer]

I sincerely hope it never happens to any of you, but earlier this evening our cooker grill caught fire (it was the fat in sausages)

Mrs breezer was grilling some sausages, while doing the washing up, next i hear a scream, anyway, the grill is burning away quite merily (not roaring flames but flames that should not be there, and they are getting bigger to say the least)
I turned off the gas, and put the fire blanket in the grill area, expecting flames to go out, yes they died down, but would not go out, then whoof, they atrat getting bigger again, so I ran up here and got my fire extinguisher (CO2)

I also know that you must be VERY carefull with CO2 extinguishers and burning liquids (it will literaly blow the liquid along setting fire to anything else flamable) so I aimed the horn sideways so it filled the grill area with CO2 and yes the flames went out, and stayed out.

Later when it was cool I checked and the reason the flames did not go out was becuse the fat had soaked through the fire blanket and continued to burn.

Mrs breezer later said she would have thrown water in there to put the flames out. NEVER DO THIS

Oh, and yes the fire alarm did go off.

so my question to those who wish to reply is this.

Are you prepared for a small fire?

and do you and your family know what to do incase of fire?

 

[WoodYouLike]

I had some training in this years ago and other things to keep in mind (or do):

When you have one and it's on: Always switch off the extractor (hope is the correct word, you know what I mean: hangs above the cooker and extracts fumes/smells. I did notice on fire-prevention radio-ad they never mention that!)
Keep a pan-lid (which fits the pan of course) handy and slide over burning pan.

 

[Kes]

Hi,

On more general house fire topics, I spoke to a fireman at a recent open day. We have low water pressure from a spring-fed 'mains' and I wanted to know what the fire brigade would do if the house caught fire. We have a swimming pool, with some 12,000 gallons of water handy. He said that the fire tender has about 1800 litres on board, and their priority is to ensure that people and pets are safe. After that he advised saving any personal items and if the fire can't be put out by the tender then letting it burn down. Why wouldn't they use the swimming pool? Well, the house is insured and can be rebuilt and if the pool liner collapsed due to water removal they didn't want to be sued for reinstatement cost.

But yes, far better to be prepared and to stop the fire in its tracks. You only have to see the results from one house fire to realise this, it is indeed shocking.

Rgds.

 

[breezer]

I take it most are not worried by a small fire?

anyway, I feel safer now

I am gettin some CO2 ones from ebay

 

[simon_d]

have had a near disaster before(about 10 years ago). just got home to find my (now) ex about to pour a pan of water onto a burning chip pan. damp towel later and fire out. ever since there has been a fire blanket in the kitchen, small CO2 and 9L extingusher in cupboard under stairs (very accessable) and a 9L water and small powder in the main bedroom upstairs

 

[Spark123]

The only thing with CO2 as with most gasses is using it in a confined space can cause asphyxiation, if the smoke doesn't get you first that is. Dry power makes a horrible mess (sodium bicarbonate iirc??). Foam is generally water based hence is not suitable for use on electrical fires. There are some new foam extinguishers on the market specifically for fat fires. The other thing is if you are using gas for cooking is remembering to turn the gas off.
Fire extinguishers can also lead to a false sense of security, unless people are trained how to use them they can have the adverse effect of causing a greater risk than leaving the fire alone.

 

[sm1thson]

a couple of points to note on CO2 extinguishers:
1) they go off with a bang -dont let this suprise you
2) when fireing; use the handle dont hold the horn it can very badly freeze your hand leading to serious burns.

 

[Kes]

Hi,

Considering the number of fatalities suffered by people who are trapped in an upper floor I would have thought that those roll-up/throw out of the window ladders would be more popular. Still, I don't have any....

Where do you keep your fire extinguishers? I assume in the kitchen, but on the wall, in a cupboard, under a big red FIRE! sign? Is next to the entrance door the best so you can grab it on the way in (assuming that a fire is more likely if the kitchen is unattended)? You don't see any in those glossy photos in Kitchen World, or whatever it's called.

Rgds.

 

[hermes]

Personally the first thing I would do would be to ensure that my wife was profficient at cooking sausages.

 

[Inky Pete]

Had a chip pan fire about 10 years ago. I thought I'd turned it off but hadn't. I was in the living room with the connecting door shut and by the time I smelled the smoke it was well going.

I opened the connecting door and was confronted by a SOLID wall of acrid, black smoke. It hadn't actually burst into flames, presumably because the lid was on the pan so there wasn't enough oxygen available to ignite the oil, but it still scared the crap out of me.

I thought I was reasonably well prepared for such eventualities but 5 seconds after opening the door I was choking, heaving, and my eyes were streaming. Couldn't find the cooker in all that smoke, much less the blanket or extinguisher!! It took me the longest 30 seconds of my life to find my way to the back door and get it open to allow enough of the smoke to disipate. Then I could switch the cooker off, LEAVE THE LID ON THE PAN, and cover with wet tea towels.

Had a hell of a job cleaning all the sticky, greasy smoke residue of absolutely everything in the kitchen before redecorating.

Bought a deep fat fryer with a thermostat the following day.

 

[oilman]

Had a hell of a job cleaning all the sticky, greasy smoke residue of absolutely everything in the kitchen before redecorating.

.

You needed some brush-on latex, which you then peel off and it lifts the dirt away at the same time.

Regrettably I can't tell you what it is as it would be seen as free advertising and the topic would be locked. Ho hum........
________________________
lynda, moderator

if you say so oilman, if you say so.

 

[empip]

Use oven chips, if you must ..

Possibly not so good for the odd ScotsMars bar tho.

 

[securespark]

Breezer's title reads:

"FIRE - what would you do, are you prepared?"

Now, what happened in Arundel?

 

[markie]

Phone 999,

 

[breezer]

for those interested.

i have added some more, but only 1 from ebay

and for those worried about burning on the CO2 horn no worries, they are now a double horn (one inside the other)