A few days ago I was preheating my oven to 450 degrees for some reason or another.

As I'm messing around in the kitchen, my eyes were suddenly drawn to a big orange flame... IN MY OVEN! (I suppose it needed a good scrubbing).

Anyway, I stood there looking at the flame trying to remember if it was flour or baking soda that made fire worse. I did not want to have to use the fire extinguisher in my oven. I think it was baking soda that makes it worse... but no, maybe it's flour because that seems more unlikely. Well maybe as long as I don't open the door it will just suffocate itself.... *STILL BURNING* well hell, I'll google it.... no that's stupid, there's no time for that... call the husband and ask him which one (flour or baking soda) makes the fire worse... *STILL BURNING*... ring, ring, no answer. Crap what if something in there blows up.... ok, I'm gonna use flour.... but what if it blows up.... oh crap, i really don't even know how to use the fire extinguiser, and it will be such a mess.... *and then the fire ran out of oxygen and just went out.*

So. that was my survival experience. Things I learned:

1. Flour makes the fire worse (google)
2. Learn to use a fire extinguisher
3. If u can't handle a small kitchen fire, how are you going to handle some disaster!
4. Clean the oven more often.
5. the fire WILL burn itself out if u don't give it oxygen.

A little factoid: flour dust can actually explode (actually extremely rapid combustion, perhaps some chemist cam elaborate), due to the small particle size.

You learned from this eperience.

Actually, ANY food/grain dust can do that.

Food = Fuel. Fuel + Fire = Bad.

Baking Soda is a good fire extinguisher because it releases Carbon Dioxide when it's heated. (I learned that on this very forum!)


Glad you came through okay!

You gonna buy a kitchen fire extinguisher, now?

Contact the base fire department and ask them when the next time they will be offering fire extinguisher training. I work at Ft. Detrick and the base fire department offers such training several times per year, so I would expect the same offerings at other bases. If the training is not coming up soon, ask them if they would put on a special class, if you got some of the neighbors together. At the same time, they could provide other fire prevention information, which would be beneficial.

Pete

Baking soda is great in ovens.
Mix up a cup of backing soda and water, paint the paste onto the walls of the oven and it hardens like a furnace lining. Any little baking incidents will stick to the coating and once a year you just brush it off.

You can also pour a box of baking powder in the bottom of the oven - it will absorb any spills. When it gets too gross just sweep out and replace.

Never clean an oven again !

So the baking soda eventually turns into sodium carbonate after being heated at high temp right? Silly question. Is soda ash corrosive and will it damage the oven coating?

I was at a friend's for dinner. The roast overflowed and started a rather impressive grease fire in the oven. A couple of handfuls of baking soda, and then closing the oven door, knocked it out in less than ten seconds.

By that time, the alarm company dispatched the fire department, despite verbal assurance that everything was under control. I suspect they use a two-stage smoke detector, which indicated a "fast growing fire" situation.

The fire crew were thorough, checking the actual source instead of waiting at the door (correct action IMO). They have seen grease fires before. I think they were just glad to get out of the station and roar around with the sirens wailing (kidding!).

The good news: the roast survived! I'm glad we didn't have to use a fire extinguisher -- kills fire and edibility/appetite in one shot.

Until Blast or another Chemist checks in, this is what I found on the web:

It takes a temp of 50°C/120°F to cause Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) to begin to decompose into Sodium Carbonate and Carbon Dioxide. Higher temps speed the reaction. It's used routinely in cooking as a leavening agent, both from reactions with acidic liquids, and from heat.

While ingesting large amounts can damage the digestive tract, small amounts like in food after cooking are harmless. When you take Sodium Bicarbonate for stomach trouble, the same reaction occurs with stomach acid.

I couldn't find much to indicate that Sodium Carbonate/Soda Ash will corrode metal under normal circumstances, but there were enough warnings about eye contact that I'd be careful when cleaning the residue out of the oven.

Yeah, what Computergeek said...

-Blast

Flour + fire = BAD.

But when done under the right circumstances the following equation may occur: Flour + fire = FUN.

Children, don't try this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9IB-7nSiS8

Here's a shortened version of the above link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1TIozKhJaA&NR=1

I have been told that your kitchen fire extinguisher should be stored nearby but never IN your kitchen where a fire could block access to it.

I would appreciate any comment by one of you pros out there.

More than one fire extinguisher will solve that problem. You want to respond to a fire FAST. Having to run out of the kitchen to get the fire extinguisher seems like a bad plan.

-Blast

My $0.02: Hang a fire blanket somewhere convenient in the kitchen as well. Works better than fire extinguisher for some situations. Extra bonus is that you don't have any mess akin to that created by fire extinguisher.

I am also a big fan of foam, not powder in fire extinguishers. But many places there are legal and/or insurance restrictions to what minimum equipment you need to have in your hose. For some reason, foam extinguishers are typically not on that "approved" list, meaning that if you'd like to have foam you still need to have the legal minimun powder extinguishers. (Of course, TWICE as many extinguishers are a good thing...)

Edit: I am guessing that the reason is that powder extinguishers have higher rating against gaseous fires than foam type extinguishers. Of course that is an issue in areas where gas heaters and ovens are common. Not where I live - but the rules are the same. The only gas in my house is a 5l tank of propane (which burns in a controlled fashion through its release valve in most circumstances) and small canisters that will go KA-BOOM if heated over an open flame. If there's a fire in my tool shed I either put it out NOW or evacuate the immediate surroundings.

Summing up the little I know: As I understand it foam should be a lot better for most domestic fire situations where self extinguishing could make any difference. Anyone more knowledgeable than me that would like to comment?

Speaking as a trained Fire Marshal (and by coincidence, I just had a conversation on this score with my S.O's son):

You never, ever attempt to tackle a fire in a house.

Get out of the room (taking children, pet's etc with you).

Close the door on it.

Get every one out of the house.

Call 911 from Outside the house.

Fire generate's Smoke.

SMOKE KILLS!

And allway's, allway's have an evacuation plan that everyone in the house know's.

FWIW, at a CERT class, one of the instructors mentioned that that ABC fire extingusher dry chemical is mostly baking soda.

Okay. Flat out fact is I don't cook very well. I am known for starting stove and oven fires. However, for these I simply have a large bowl of baking soda that I dose the fire with. 'less' messy and inexpensive than a full on fire extinguisher, which is under the sink.

FWIW

Comms:

Move the fire extinguisher out of the kitchen, so a fire can't cut you off from it.

OTOH, if it's bad enough to prevent you from getting to the sink, it's probably Get Out Of Dodge time.

P.A.S.S.

P= pull the pin
A= aim
S= spray
S= sweep

Lots of people forget to pull the pin when their adrenaline is pumping. Holding the tube at the flames is amusing, but not effective. You have to move back and forth, covering EVERTHING! You need to be on your game because they don't spray for very long either (subjectively speaking).

Fire extinguishers have a lifespan, and most places check them at least once a month.

Practice! The old extinguishers, at a previous job, before they were taken to be recharged they were often put in the hands of someone that had never used one. The time to "try" or "learn" about something new is not in an emergency.

I worked at a foundry, so fires were pretty common. Fire extinguishers work very well at putting out fires and making a HUGE mess at the same time. Given the alternatives I would happily clean up a big mess than rebuild my house. Just my .02cents

Practice with a fire extinguisher is definitely a good thing. It really paid off for me - aiming is critical.

Just remember that powder/CO2 spraying past a plastic nozzle = massive static charge. If you don't ground the tank, you can get knocked on your tookas!

I don't understand the comments of a fire blocking someone from getting a fire extinguisher. Who has just one fire extinguisher in their house?

that's like saying if a robber is in my bedroom I couldn't get to my firearm(s).

Next thing you know, you guys will be telling me that having a refrigerator on the patio stocked with beer and vodka is somehow a bad thing. haha

Heck I got fire extinguishers all over the place.

You guys probably already know this, but don't forget to tap the botton (hand or rubber mallet) and shake your extinguisher every few months to keep the dry chemical from clumping.