Cooking doesn't normally present a lot of danger. You might nick your finger while chopping vegetables or manage to burn a pan of roasting potatoes, but in terms of actual danger to ourselves or our homes, not so much. Except for grease fires. Do you know what to do if your cooking oil catches fire?
A grease fire happens when your cooking oil becomes too hot. When heating, oils first start to boil, then they'll start smoking, and then they'll catch on fire. Most vegetable oils have a smoking point around 450°F, while animal fats like lard or goose fat will start smoking around 375°F.
The very best safety is prevention. Whenever you're heating oil for pan-frying or deep-fat frying, stay in the kitchen. Use a heavy pot with a lid and clip a thermometer to the side so you know the temperature of the oil.
Keep an eye on the oil as it's heating. If you see wisps of smoke or smell something acrid, immediately turn down the heat or remove the pot from the burner completely. The oil won't immediately catch fire once it starts smoking, but smoke is a danger sign that it's well on its way to getting there.
If the worst happens and your oil does catch on fire, do the following:
• Turn the Heat Off - Don't try to move the pot. You might accidentally splash yourself or your kitchen with burning oil. And that would be bad.
• Cover the Pot with a Metal Lid - Fire cannot exist in the absence of oxygen. With the lid on (and the heat off), the fire should quickly consume all the oxygen and put itself out. Use a metal lid since glass will shatter.
• Pour on Baking Soda - Baking soda will extinguish grease fires, but only if they're small. It takes a lot of baking soda to do the job.
• Spray the Pot with a Class B Dry Chemical Fire Extinguisher - This is your last resort, as fire extinguishers will contaminate your kitchen. Still, it's better than the alternative if the fire is getting out of control.
• Get Out and Call 911 - If the fire does break out of control, don't try to be a hero. Get out and find a phone to call 911.
Whatever you do, DO NOT do the following:
• Do Not Use Water - Pouring water can cause the oil to splash and spread the fire. The vaporizing water can also carry grease particles in it, also spreading the fire.
• Do Not Move the Pot or Carry It Outside - Throwing the pot outside might seem logical in the frenzy of the moment. But trying to move the pot might splash burning oil on you, your home, and anything outside.
• Do Not Throw Any Other Baking Product On the Fire - Flour might look like baking soda, but it won't react the same. Only baking soda can help put out a grease fire.
Phew, now that we're clear on all of that, hopefully you'll never be in a situation where you have to actually use this advice. Be safe, fellow cooks!
Any other advice on preventing or dealing with grease fires?
Related:
(Image: Emma Christensen, Note: This is actually an image of flaming alcohol in a controlled kitchen environment, not a grease fire. Thankfully.)
How To Make Perfect Bacon in the Oven
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Elizabeth Apron fro...
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
I had to deal with a massive grease fire in my kitchen last year and it was terrifying.
I had a large amount of Crisco which I left in a pan after cooking which I wanted to melt down to get rid of it.
After I turned on the heat, I left the room and went to my computer, and a few minutes later I heard the fire alarm and began to smell smoke. When I ran into the kitchen I saw flames roaring out from the pan all the way to my ceiling.
I did not have a lid that would fit, nor the right kind of fire extinguisher. I quickly shut off the heat, and grabbed two baking sheets and placed them on top of the pan.
After this I immediately called 911, but luckily the fire did slowly extinguish before the fireman arrived. I was very lucky that the house did not burn down and have definitely learned never to leave the kitchen when heating oils and fats.
Some baking soda firefighting tips straight from the source:
http://www.armhammer.com/myfamily/kids/fire_safety.asp
Whatever you do don't panic...
Can't you use salt too?
We have new carpet in my parents house because of this... my sister, in the panic of the moment, put water on the fire, then freaked out and tried to carry it outside to throw. Except the fire sloshed around and the carpet caught on fire. Other than than, no harm done. But, you know, there was a massive burned melty part in the rug.
It was scary.
I have used salt instead of baking soda. Dumping my kosher salt dish is much faster than searching or baking soda. Is their a reason I should not do this?
Hmmm...I've never heard of using salt on a grease fire and it wasn't mentioned in any of the sources I checked (specifically, FireSafety.gov). But if it has worked for you, then I'm glad it did! You're right that I always have kosher salt next to the oven and rarely have baking soda, so salt would be much handier.
Anyone else have information on this?
I was taught very early on how NOT to start a grease fire, and what to do if one did start. Never, EVER leave anything flammable unattended. And always have a fire extinguisher!
I totally started a fire, first time using my wok. It was so scary! I was stupid and picked it up to bring to the sink, so some sloshed out onto my foot, stainless steel dishwasher (still is stained), and floor. Luckily I came to my senses and grabbed the biggest pot lid I could find, and that put it out. I was also SUPER lucky that while I ended up with a little burn, the floor didn't suffer any damage, and the dishwasher isn't a big deal (although I'm moving out soon and am curious if the landlord will notice it!). So scary, but glad I didn't panic too much!
Salt will work much like putting sand on a fire, which is one way of smothering a fire out when you're outdoors. Just make darn sure you're not throwing on the sugar bowl by mistake!
Every school kid should be forced to watch the Mythbuster's episode on what happens when you throw water in a grease fire - scary, scary stuff!
Er, I feel like I should add if someone doesn't know about smothering, you're basically just choking off the oxygen the fire needs. This is why putting a lid on the top works!
So salt will work if it covers up a *small* grease fire in a pan, but if you've got anything more than a few tablespoons, it's just going to sink to the bottom of the oil and not smother anything.
So for larger grease fires, don't throw anything in and risk splashing it abou. Keep your head like ryansv and find some other non-flammable thing to cover the pot with, be it cookie sheets, a pizza stone, another, wider pot, etc.
I keep a large box of baking soda under my sink, which happens to be right next to my stove) for this exact purpose. Hopefully, I never have to use it.
i started a grease fire in my college apartment while trying to fry yucca. My roomate called her dad who (thank god) answered on the first ring and told us about the baking soda.
It works.
So the baking soda would float on the grease to smother it where salt would sink into oil and not smother fire. Salt will work if oil is just a small amount. All my grease fires have been during stir frying. Will put together a large mayonnaise jar full of baking soda. For deep frying.
Wow I found a use for the deodorizing baking soda instead of throwing away I will save for fire protection.
We learned this on a Girl Scout outing--a planned lesson, I think, not one resulting from a kitchen mishap. And then again in home ec in jr. high.
I was told to use a fire blanket.
I've never heard about using baking soda but will definitely keep that in mind.
I have this fire extinguisher hanging on the wall (on the opposite side of the kitchen from the stove).
If I don't have a big enough cover, or the fat has boiled or sprayed out and the stovetop is burning... I'll feel a damn sight safer spraying it down from a few feet away than having to get close enough to throw handfuls of baking soda at the problem.
At less than $25, with non-toxic, non-corrosive, kitchen-use-specific powder in it... this is a purchase I feel very good about.
@scruloose- This fire extinguisher is basically filled with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). It looks like a good way to throw baking soda at the problem from a few feet away! Sodium bicarbonate extinguishers seem to be the only ones that can be used around food. Of course, you should actually know how to use the fire extinguisher, too!
I actually had a grease fire the other day i was going to fry a burrito i put the grease on high and left to watch tv till it got hot i was alarmed by the smell of smoke and ran to the kitchen i grabbed the pot off the burner and lifted it up to the smoke fan as i waited for it to stop smoking i heard a small fire start in the pan. As a 14 year old i have no knowledge of this danger and how to put it out so i ran to the sink and tuck the pan under the water a huge fire arose that burned my right hand serverly and i have a secon degree burn on all my fingers except my pinkie the whole back of my hand and part of my palm and i have no use of my right hand for 2 weeks