Safety evo
Life saving tips
Literally this question need to be asked by everybody, Is cooking oil flammable ?
And the answer is crucial for all of us and can be life saving.
When we talk about approximately 160,000 home fires every year resulting in 470 fatality cases and more than 4000 injuries, this indicates a crucial threat.
In this post, we will answer the following questions:
cooking oil flammability
Here is the direct answer of our question: is cooking oil flammable ?
The answer is yes….
Cooking oil consists of fatty acids (composed of hydrocarbon chains).
These hydrocarbon chains just need to be heated until they reach their ignition temperature.
Before reaching the ignition temperature, we have another lower point, which is the smoke point.
after this temperature, the volatile components of the oil can vaporize and mix with oxygen.
The smoke point for each oil is different from others depending on the components of the oil.
For example: Almond oil can smoke after 221 °C, while unrefined corn oil needs only 170 °C to smoke.
This table describes the smoke point for the majority of fatty oils.
As the smoke of the oil mix with Oxygen, it forms a flammable mixture, this mixture needs only an ignition source like flame to catch fire.
This is not the worst point, we explained in a previous post that the vegetable or cooking oil can turn into a disaster if we used an improper extinguishing media like water.
Water can carry the flame and help to spread the fire allover the area.
We need a specific extinguishing media to deal with the greasy and acidic nature of cooking oil.
Knowing the answer of the question ” is cooking oil flammable ” is not enough
Now we need to avoid cooking oil flammability
How to control cooking oil flammability
Here we will tell you some control measures and mitigations that can help you preventing cooking oil fires and even help you to control it if happened.
- Controlling the temperature of your cooking oil is a very crucial step. Avoid heating the oil more than its smoke point.
This will prevent the vaporization of volatile components of oil and prevent the formation of flammable mixture between oil vapor and oxygen.
- Use your tools properly, meaning that you have to avoid overcrowding of the oil vessels.
Also, use proper vessels which can easily contain the oil and minimize the splattering risk.
- Your cooking equipment need to be always clean, the oil contamination can lead to initiation of fires.
Always make sure to perform proper housekeeping for the cooking tools, this is not only to avoid fires,
this is a very important step to avoid cross contamination and food born diseases.
- Avoid using any water to extinguish a kitchen fire. All your family members need to be aware about this tip.
- Finally, it is highly recommended to provide some essential fire safety tools even inside your home.
Here we are talking about:
Class K fire extinguisher which is the specific extinguisher for cooking oil fires.
A fire blanket, which can easily and quickly smother the fire and control it.
Also, it is recommended to equip your kitchen “especially if you are in a food industry business” with suitable fire detection system.
Finally, be ready to face and deal with minor burns and injuries by having a first aid kit.
kitchen fires safety tools
Finally, it is highly recommended to provide some essential fire safety tools even inside your home.
Here we are talking about:
Class K fire extinguisher which is the specific extinguisher for cooking oil fires.
A fire blanket, which can easily and quickly smother the fire and control it.
Also, it is recommended to equip your kitchen “especially if you are in a food industry business” with suitable fire detection system.
Finally, be ready to face and deal with minor burns and injuries by having a first aid kit.
Related posts
Your question now is clearly answered ” Is cooking oil flammable “.
It is time to check other related posts in our food safety section and also Firefighting section.
And let me recommend some other posts that you will not regret reading:
