How to put out a fryer on fire? This is a fairly common question when thinking about the possibility of this event happening in our home. Therefore, a Malaga firefighter gave the key to act in case the fryer caught fire.
Before knowing why a deep fryer catches fire, it is necessary to clarify a basic principle of all fires. In this sense, it should be noted that for a garment to be called clothing, what is called Triangle of Firesince every fire needs three elements for its generation.
-
Fuel. Fundamental element for combustion. In this case, it’s oil.
-
Oxidizer. It is the substance that allows combustion to develop. Normally it’s oxygen.
-
Activation energy. It is the energy that causes combustion. It could be a spark, an electric current or a heat source, as is the case with the deep fryer.
However, when the oil is subjected to extreme temperatures and comes into contact with oxygen, it does not even need activation energy. In this way the fuel reaches what is called autoignition temperaturesomething that happens between 320ºC and 380ºC.
How to put out a fryer on fire?
The answer is as simple as it is curious: throw the cutlery into the boiling oil. Spoons, forks, knives and any metal object in general. At the same time, you need to cover the fryer with a tarpaulin, cloth, tea towel or any other item that serves as a cover.
@bombero.foodie 📖 EXPLANATION 👇 HERE 👇 A very common service in summer is to make a restaurant’s fryer catch fire. Even though what’s really burning is the oil in it, the thermostat that’s supposed to maintain the temperature breaks and heats the oil all the time. What is really happening? For FIRE to form, what we call the Fire Triangle must be completed, formed by: A fuel (oil in this case), an oxidant (air, oxygen in particular) and an activation energy (spark or heat source). If the fuel and oxidizer (in this case, oil and air) are in the ideal quantities and temperatures (around 250ºC), when a flame approaches them (activation energy), the oil will burn . It’s not actually the oil itself that burns, but rather the “oil vapors”, more specifically a substance called acrolein. Total, very hot oil + lighter, it burns. But there is a case in which a lighter is not needed to burn, that is, the oil heats to extreme levels, reaching its “self-ignition temperature”, in which the oil is so hot that it does not burn. does not have an external heat source to burn, the same heat it has accumulated causes it to burn. Depending on the type of oil, this occurs between 320 and 380⁰C. And that’s the theory behind these fires. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? 👉 Cool the oil. And for this we will NEVER add water. One way to cool it is to add more oil, or a more economical way: to put cutlery inside. The metal of the cutlery absorbs the heat of the oil and lowers its temperature. We cover the oil with a cloth to drown it (remove the air), but when we uncover it, as it is still hot, it ignites again on contact with air. Little by little, the more blankets we add, the colder it gets, until it drops to a temperature where when we uncover it it no longer turns on by itself. This is the summary explanation. Another day I will explain to you what to do if this happens to you with your pan in the kitchen, but keep this principle to yourself: NEVER add water to the oil, Remove the pan from the heat (unplugging the fryer works too) and always try to cover it with a damp cloth or a lid ✌️ #Firefighters #Malaga ♬ original sound – FOODIE FIREFIGHTER 🌶️🔥🚒
The reason is that the metal of the cutlery absorbs the heat from the oil and lowers your temperature until it stops lighting up when it comes into contact with air. Therefore, it is also possible to pour cold oil. What you should never do is pour water on it.
Why isn’t burning oil put out with water?
Never extinguish it with water. a fire caused by boiling oil. The reason is that in these cases the oil is at a temperature above 300ºC and it must be taken into account that the boiling point of water is 100ºC.
In this sense, water, in contact with boiling oil, evaporates in seconds and causes gases containing oil. As already explained, this oil, which acts as fuel, comes into contact with the oxygen in the air, which is the oxidant, and burns.
