Yockers, Evans

Avery E. Meighan

A recent story reported another house fire started by &ldquo;a grease fire.&rdquo; A grease fire is not an excuse; it is an oversight. My experience with a grease fire occurred when I was 14 or 15 years old as I was preparing to fry eggs. 
The Crisco had melted in the flying pan, and perhaps because I was distracted by something, I suddenly saw that the melted Crisco had caught on fire. I knew from earlier training or, perhaps from hearing my elders speak of such things, that oil fires cannot be put out by throwing water on them because that will only cause the water to explode the burning fat around the room. 
Using a pot holder, I picked the flaming pan up by the handle and carried it outside where I placed it on a concrete porch and let it burn out.
Grease fires may be extinguished by placing a metal cover over the flaming pan, as that will prevent the fire from having oxygen with which to burn. Be careful to take the hot pan away from the fire to let it cool down below the flash point (ignition temperature) or it may start burning again when the cover is removed. 
If no metal cover is handy, using a pot holder, pick the flaming pan up and carry it out of the house and place it on a non-combustible surface, as I did so many years ago.
I learned in a junior high school science class that fire needs three things to start burning: fuel, oxygen, and a high enough temperature to cause the fuel to ignite. If any of those three conditions are not met, no fire can burn.
These things should be taught to young people in a fire prevention class so that they may be prepared for coping with situations that occur so often. Fire safety classes should be part of any school curriculum. Most accidents can be prevented if one keeps one&rsquo;s cool.