This is going to be more of a life pro tip, but trying to reach the largest audience here.
Just had a frantic neighbour knocking at my door saying there is a fire in her oven.
I was over there in under 60 seconds with the fire extinguisher. There was a pot of oil on fire wedged between the element and the rack. No way to quickly and safely remove it, so I blasted it.
If I had tried to remove the pan, it’s likely it would have ended up spilling burning oil everywhere and making the situation much worse. Now they just have a house full of dust to clean.
Will replace our extinguisher today and am considering buying a few more to gift this Christmas.
I have one in my pantry. Can’t remember how long I’ve had it so guessing I should probably check it
Yep. I have a kitchen extinguisher, one in the central bathroom, and one in the garage.
I don’t have one. I should get one.
Ordered. Thanks OP you might have just saved my life.
Yup. Near the wood stove, it’s obvious why. For outside there’s the garden hose, and if that doesn’t help there’s still the fire department. Basically a 1 minute drive there, while officially calling, waiting 4 minutes for the others to arrive and half a minute back lol
The safest I ever felt was when I lived across the street from the local Fire Department. If I ever had a fire (I never did while I lived there) I could have ran across the street and screamed and pointed at my place in under the time it would take to make a 911 call.
Just that your whole plan would collapse if they’re voluntary and therefore chilling at home/work/whatever, until an official 911 call is made, exactly as in my case.
I was in the middle of a city with a fully staffed and non-volunteer set of firefighters with four full size fire trucks and about eight other smaller vehicles for firefighting. It was staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
But yes, you’re correct, would be a bad plan if I lived out in the boonies.
That’s got to be exhausting, you should really let it sit down
One in each kitchen under the sink and one in the garage near my workbench.
I have one in the kitchen, garage and utility (furnace) room. 2 were given to me by my insurance agent! The 3rd one I bought for my garage because, duh!
That reminds me to shake my iguana
Yes. But it is out of date.
Yes, one per utility space (basement, garage, laundry room), kitchen, up near bedrooms.
Be sure your kitchen one is appropriate for grease fires
I have one rated for grease fires in the kitchen and one rated for Magic Computer Smoke next to the electronics.
(I live in a small apartment, so two is probably already overkill).
Also, second pro-tip from a Firefighter friend: Regularly pick up your Fire Extinguisher and flip it upside down and tap the bottom like you’re trying to get ketchup out of a glass bottle. Often the “dust” inside the extinguisher can settle for too long and when you go to use it… nothing comes out because it is all compacted on the bottom of the Extinguisher. So occasionally making sure everything is loose and ready to go is key. He suggested to me every few months to do it.
Is this why my old extinguisher at camp just spits white dust?!
Tested it the other day, because why not? It’s there because it’s old, and the place is literally a swamp, nothing going to burn down.
Lol, white dust is what a dry powder extinguisher is meant to spit out. Ths issue is that if the powder becomes too compacted, it won’t come out. Look up a video of a dry powder extinguisher in use to see if it’s working like it should.
However, they are more-or-less single use. If you’ve used it, even partially, you should really get it recharged or replaced.
Also, remember all the stuff that kills small fires: salt, baking soda, a wet rag, a sponge, a bigger pot blocking the oxygen. Many people freak out for a minute while the fire grows out of control.
Assess the situation, but a good plan now is better than a perfect plan in a minute. No don’t pour water on oil or electric fires. Use the baking soda, salt, or pot holder that’s right next to the stove.
Not flour, though! A friend once had food in a pot on the stove catch fire, and she knew about putting salt or baking soda on oily fires, but in haste, grabbed the flour, instead. On the bright side, the resulting explosion did put the fire out by consuming the oxygen, but it cracked the kitchen window.
Solid suggestions!
I don’t know why it gave me a memory of the server room at a building I worked at. If there was a fire, you had to leave the room immediately because the main fire suppression device was something that pumped all the oxygen out of the room, depriving the fire of the oxygen that allows it to burn.
Meaning, if you hung around in that room after the fire alarm went off, you’d have a good chance of getting stuck in there and dying of asphyxiation.
Good ol’ halon systems!
LOL, my buddy back in 2000 named his system “Nuclear Halon” for just that reason.
For a fire in a pot or pan, having a well-fitting lid ready, and sliding it on, is most effective. Make it a habit as you get out the pan to get out a lid that completely covers it, and put it within reach.
Edit to add: I have a fire extinguisher on the kitchen wall as well, because sometimes the fire isn’t contained/containable. When I replaced my old unused one, I took it outside and practiced with it until it was empty, which was fun and educational.
I have lived in my apartment for two and a half years, and I’ve not seen someone come to test or check on the Fire Extinguishers once.
I personally wouldn’t trust them to work in a pinch, which is why I have my own. Hopefully your apartment managers are more diligent.
You can’t really test a fire extinguisher as it loses pressure when you discharge it.
As I pointed out in another comment, leaving them untouched and not turning them over to get the dust inside the can moving around and not stuck settled at the bottom is a real issue. To “test” them you basically ensure that the pressure is still where it needs to be and turn them over to get stuff unstuck from the bottom. That’s all I was referring to.
The fact that no one has touched them in two and a half years leads me to believe that all the dust is settled at the bottom of the extinguisher, and when an emergency arises, they won’t function properly.
We have several. Fire extinguisher is my favorite house/apartment warming gift to give.
We have three. One in the kitchen, one in the master bedroom and one in the garage. We also have fire escape ladders in the two occupied bedrooms.
I had to use one recently as our trash can caught fire. We had some towels we had used to oil our griddle and they must have still been hot when we threw them away.
I have a fire blanket on the kitchen wall, not far from the cooktop, and a large fire extinguisher in the garage, just inside the door from the house (right near the foot of the stairs).
