When a frying pan catches fire: slide the lid on, turn off the heat, never use water
Steps from America's NFPA, and the point at which you get out and call 112 outside the home.
An oil fire in a frying pan starts small and grows fast, and the instinct is to reach for a glass of water. That is exactly the move the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) warns against, without exception. The steps below come from its cooking safety page.
Before you start frying
- Put the pan’s lid beside it before you light the burner.
- Heat the oil gradually to the temperature you need, and lower food in gently so it does not splatter.
- Stay in the kitchen the whole time. If you see wisps of smoke or smell the oil, turn the burner off at once or carefully move the pan off the heat. Smoke means the oil is too hot.
- Keep anything that burns away from the stove: oven mitts, wooden spoons, food packaging, towels and curtains.
If the oil catches fire
- Slide the lid over the pan until it covers it completely.
- Turn off the burner.
- Leave the lid on and do not lift it to check, because the fire can start again. Let the pan cool for a long time.
- Never throw water on the fire.
When to leave
If the fire does not go out, or you are not comfortable getting close enough to cover it, get everyone out of the home, close the door behind you to help contain it, and call emergency services on 112 from outside. If you do decide to fight it, first make sure others are leaving and that you have a clear way out.
If the fire is in the oven
Turn off the heat and keep the oven door closed.
Photo: A cutlet frying in hot oil on a stovetop. By Horacio Cambeiro, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Cooking safety.
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