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!