Kitchen fire last night

[latravcha]

[SIZE=3]Last night when I got home I turned the oven on to cook supper and went sit on the back patio with my wife. About 30 minutes later I went back into the house to get another drink and the living room was filled with smoke and the alarm system starts to go off. I then look to the kitchen and see flames coming from the stove reaching the vent hood. I run to the garage to get the fire extinguisher. As I’m coming back into the kitchen with the fire extinguisher I hear a loud pop and notice a white powdery substance had put the fire out. The fire was started by a plastic cake dish that my wife had put on the stove after I turned the oven on. I’m still not sure if the fire was started by the exhaust from the oven or if one of my girls accidently bumped one of the knobs on the stove turning one of the burners on as they were climbing on the counters to get a cup out of the cabinet. Anyway two years ago a friend of mine who owns several apartment complexes gave me two small canisters called stovetop firestop. This is a product designed to be hung under the vent hood and if a fire starts it will release a fire suppressant and extinguish the fire. Honestly I installed these canisters and never thought about them again until they put the fire out last night. Fortunately we did not have any damage to the house other than soot to clean up and the smell of burnt plastic in the house but I believe it would have been a lot worse if I would not have installed these firestops and walked into the house when I did. After we finished cleaning up the mess last night I ordered four more pair of the stovetop firestops. When I got to work this morning I shared this story with several people and none of them knew this product is available. I would like to share this story with everyone I can and make them aware that such a product is available. Statistics show that most home fires (40%) start while cooking. You can order them individually through Louisville Fire & Safety at a cost of $49.05 a pair of if you have a bulk order of 100 or more they are $39.00 a pair.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]Link to Louisville Fire & Safety[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]http://www.louisvillefireprotection.com/stovetopfirestop.htm[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]Video of the Firestops putting out a fire.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w17mGp1r2-0[/SIZE]" target="_blank">[SIZE=3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w17mGp1r2-0[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w17mGp1r2-0[/SIZE]" target="_blank">[SIZE=3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w17mGp1r2-0[/SIZE]

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[swamp snorkler]

This happened to you or is this an email you received?

[latravcha]

Happened to me. I just copied the email that I sent out this morning.

[meaux fishing]

thats crazy glad everything is ok

[swamp snorkler]

Originally Posted by latravcha

Happened to me. I just copied the email that I sent out this morning.

OK, thanks for the info, I'll be looking into gettting a few of them things.

I'll also check my fire-ex in the mean time.

[jchief]

Glad it wasn't too bad. Been in the fire service for 37 years and never heard of this product.

[latravcha]

Originally Posted by jchief

Glad it wasn't too bad. Been in the fire service for 37 years and never heard of this product.

I had not heard of till my buddy gave them to me. He owns several apartment complexes and said he was averaging 10 kitchen fires a year and the damage was usually around 8k a fire. Since he installed these he has had fires but they only cost him around 500 for cleanup and getting the smell out. I honestly forgot that I had them up there and they had been expired for 6 months. I ordered 4 more pair last night one for each of the camps and one for my parents.
After doing some research several towns, including Shreveport, require these in multiple family dwellings.

[BIG-C]

I'm glad there were no injuries and not too much damage,I've been in the fire service for 20 years and haven't heard of it,will def have to check it out.

[jchief]

Got this email this morning.

Kitchen Fires #1 in New Report

Smoke Alarms and Escape Plans Key to Surviving Fires in the Home; Fire Prevention Week is October 7-13

WASHINGTON – In recognition of Fire Prevention Week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) are providing new statistics on fires in American homes and urging consumers to install smoke alarms in their homes and check to make sure all smoke alarms are working properly. It is also vitally important to develop and practice a family fire escape plan.

In a report released today (PDF, 396 Kb), CPSC estimates there were an average of 366,700 unintentional residential fires, 2,310 deaths, 12,550 injuries and more than $7 billion in property damage each year attended by fire service between 2008 and 2010.

The top cause of fires in the home is cooking equipment, accounting for an estimated 147,400 or 40 percent of residential fires each year between 2008 and 2010. Cooking was also associated with the largest percentage of fire-related injuries, an estimated average 27.4 percent or 3,450, in the home.

Home heating and cooling equipment, including portable space heaters, was a top cause of fire deaths, accounting for about nine percent or 210 deaths on average, in homes each year between 2008 and 2010. Portable heaters were associated with 100 of those deaths each year.

CPSC/USFA Fire Prevention Week Press Conference - October 9, 2012




"Six people die every day in home fires," said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. "The early warning provided by smoke alarms can make a big difference. Consumers who have working smoke alarms in their homes die in fires at about half the rate of those who do not have alarms."

"Every second counts when there is a fire in your home," said U.S. Fire Administrator Ernie Mitchell. "It is easy to believe that when the smoke alarm sounds, you and your family will be able to escape. A home fire drill can prepare you and others to escape a real life emergency in your home."

CPSC and USFA recommend that every family have a working smoke alarm in their home. To provide better warning of a fire and more escape time, install more than one alarm and interconnect all smoke alarms in the home. Interconnected alarms speak to one another so if there is a fire in one part of the house, the interconnected alarms sound throughout the house and alert consumers to the fire more quickly.

For the best protection, CPSC and USFA recommend installing alarms on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas and inside each bedroom. Install both ionization and photoelectric alarms and make sure alarms are interconnected throughout the home. Alarms that are powered by house wiring should have battery backup.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, the death rate per 100 reported fires was 49% less in homes with working smoke alarms than in homes without this protection. In addition to using alarms, never leave cooking items unattended and have a professional inspect heating and cooling equipment every year, including fireplaces and chimneys. Be extra careful with cigarettes and other smoking materials. Keep matches and lighters out of the reach of children.

According to USFA, the fire death rate dropped by 20 percent over the 10-year time period 2000 through 2009 on a per capita basis for a variety of reasons. CPSC and USFA are working to further reduce fires and fire deaths through education and standards work. CPSC staff is working with other federal agencies on new smoke alarm technology to improve effectiveness and reduce nuisance alarms. CPSC is also developing rulemaking aimed at reducing upholstered furniture fires.


http://www.usfa.fema.gov/media/press...es/100912.shtm

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by jchief

Glad it wasn't too bad. Been in the fire service for 37 years and never heard of this product.

IMO.....it looked like that fire was "licking" the canister for a long time before it "poped" open.

I could not tell......did the fire lite a fuse on the can and it exploded when it opened? Looked at the video again.....fuse was lit, and the can "poped" open.

Fill that can with some "Purple K" and that fire would have been out in 1 second.

[jchief]

Originally Posted by Gerald

IMO.....it looked like that fire was "licking" the canister for a long time before it "poped" open.

I could not tell......did the fire lite a fuse on the can and it exploded when it opened? Looked at the video again.....fuse was lit, and the can "poped" open.

Fill that can with some "Purple K" and that fire would have been out in 1 second.

Looks like you are correct Gerald. The fuse is lit and releases the contents of the canister. It is under pressure at first, but ends up just dropping the contents after that.

There are many chemicals out there besides purple K that are used and some are better than others. It really depends on the application they are used in

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by jchief

Looks like you are correct Gerald. The fuse is lit and releases the contents of the canister. It is under pressure at first, but ends up just dropping the contents after that.

There are many chemicals out there besides purple K that are used and some are better than others. It really depends on the application they are used in

I know that a 30# extinguisher filled with Purple K will do a quick job on a 15' x15' fire training pit after letting the diesel fuel get going real good...... if it is done correctly. Been there...done that.

The Friday afternoon fire training sessions were a good break from the normal "office" work at the refinery.