The sounds of sizzling skillets on the stove. The smell of chicken frying up golden and crispy. The hustle and bustle of a busy kitchen. It’s heartwarming, isn’t it?
But it can also be downright scary.
All that cooking oil and kitchen grease spells danger. One wrong move could spark an out-of-control restaurant fire!
Don’t panic. This handy guide will teach you how to deal with those nasty grease and Class K oil fires!
How Do Grease Fires Start?
Grease fires happen when cooking oils, fats, and other greasy residues build up to extremely high temperatures from being left unattended. As the grease continues heating past its smoke point, it will start violently boiling, followed by billowing smoke, until it finally combusts into roaring flames.
Eagle-eyed kitchen staff can spot these early warning signs and prevent ignition by lowering heat or removing the grease from the burner or oven. But hectic restaurant kitchens breed accidents.
The most common grease fire ignition points include:
- Deep Fryers – Workers get distracted during the rush and don’t notice the oil temperature creeping up. Unattended fryers are the #1 source of restaurant grease fires. Just a few moments of neglect can lead to disaster.
- Pans and Pots – A busy sauté cook loses track of all the skillets and saucepots on the multiple stove burners. Grease residues left in an untended pan can easily overheat, ignite and set off a chain reaction.
- Stovetops – Racing to get all the menu items fired, it’s easy to leave burners blazing on high with nothing on them. The open flames can ignite nearby grease accumulations and spread rapidly.
- Vents and Filters – Failure to regularly clean kitchen exhaust system vents and filters allows thick, greasy build up. This grease eventually heats up enough from the exhaust fans to ignite into difficult-to-reach fires.
During chaotic peak dining periods, it’s understandable how overworked kitchen crews can lose attentiveness. Just a few moments of distraction when multitasking can set off a devastating grease fire emergency.
Preventing these risks requires constant vigilance. Well-trained staff who maintain situational awareness and monitor for smoke, unusual odors or excess bubbling can detect early warning signs and avert tragedy. Managers need to instill and enforce a culture of kitchen fire safety as the top priority.
Proper maintenance like replacing old equipment, keeping exhaust vents meticulously clean, and having professional kitchen staff inspect for hazards daily also significantly reduces risks. Commercial kitchens contain many grease fire triggers, so staying on guard is a must.
Putting Out Grease Fires – The Right Way
When those flames erupt – quick action is key! Follow these steps to knock down a grease fire before it devours your kitchen:
Kill the Heat – Stat!
Job #1 is taking away the heat fueling the fire. Turn off burners, fryers or anything making it hot right now.
For contained flare-ups inside a pot or fryer, plunking on a tight lid can also choke out the fire’s air supply and calm it down.
Baking Soda to the Rescue
For little grease fires only in one pan, coat the flames with baking soda. Lots of it! The bicarb in baking soda reacts with oil and quiets the fire down.
Way safer than using water on grease fires. We’ll get to that bad idea in a bit!
Fire Extinguisher Time
If baking soda can’t hack it, grab an extinguisher made for commercial kitchens.
Aim low at the fire’s base and sweep side-to-side until it’s out cold. The chemicals mess up the fire’s ability to keep burning.
EVACUATE
If that sucker is too nasty for an extinguisher, get out ASAP and call 911. Trying to fight a raging grease fire puts everyone at risk. Let the pros handle it.
Dont’s for Grease Fires
With grease fire emergencies, people panic and make bad calls:
Flour – It seems like flour would suffocate a fire. But flour can explode! Talk about pouring gas on the flames.
Water – Water spreads grease fires fast. It sinks under oil and makes it pop and splatter hard. Even a drizzle of water is trouble.
Baking Powder – Folks often use baking powder by accident thinking it’s baking soda. But they’re totally different stuff! Baking powder makes grease fires worse.
Proper training helps avoid these mistakes when the heat is on. Regular practice drills get your crew ready and thinking clearly.
Posting reminders of what to do (and not do!) also helps them take the right steps.
Class K Fires – Hot Oily Beasts
Any cooking oil can fuel a grease fire. But Class K fires come from vegetable oils like canola, sunflower, corn, peanut or soy oil.
These oils burn crazy hot compared to animal fats. So Class K fires are wild and really tough to tame.
All restaurants risk Class K fires since we use so much frying oil. Constantly heating up vats of oil gets it primed to catch fire.
And compared to other kitchen blazes, these oily beasts are more challenging to put down. Gallons of combustible oils like peanut and soy can set the whole kitchen ablaze in no time!
Aside from the usual fire damage, scalding hot oil can cause brutal burns. These super fluid oils spread flames farther too. Without quick action, Class K fires often end very badly.
Class K Fire Extinguishers – Your New Best Friend
Battling a Class K fire means having special extinguishers made for these oily situations.
Standard ABC models don’t have the right juice to put down Class K fires.
Class K extinguishers use a wet chemical called potassium acetate. It reacts with the hot oils to turn them into soapy gunk that won’t burn. The chemicals cling well to surfaces too, stopping re-flashes.
Get Class K extinguishers professionally installed where local codes say. Make sure they’re clearly marked and easy to get to in a hurry.
But just having the right gear won’t save the day on its own. Train your crew how to boss those Class K extinguishers like pros!
evacuation plan – getting out alive
Stopping fires early and responding correctly helps a ton. But bad fires can happen, even when you’re uber-careful.
That’s why having an escape plan is so critical.
When it’s time to evacuate the building, seconds count. Everyone needs to know exactly what to do to get out alive.
Assign an Evacuation Captain
Pick a staff member each shift to be evacuation captain. They call 911 and oversee everyone escaping safely if fire extinguishers fail.
Map Your Exits
Mark clear emergency exit paths leading outside to a meeting spot away from danger. Make sure all staff know the routes and help customers evacuate.
Drill Regularly
Practice makes perfect, right? Evacuation drills prep your crew to hustle out orderly when danger strikes. Drill new hires and do refreshers every 6 months.
Account For All People
The captain has to confirm everyone got out and take roll call at the meeting point. Never run back into a burning building!
Review and Upgrade
After each drill or real escape, get feedback on what needs improving. Update the plan regularly and retrain on any changes.
Final Thoughts
Fire safety often gets ignored with how busy restaurants are. But being ready can be the difference between a stove flare up and losing everything.
Make drills, fire extinguisher practice, and staying on top of kitchen safety a top priority. Get your team ready to take action at the first whiff of smoke. And have an escape route in place for worst case scenarios.