By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
October is Fire Prevention Month, and Oct. 4-10 is the National Fire Prevention Association’s Fire Prevention Week. This year’s national theme once again involves the safe use and charging of lithium-ion batteries. Great Bend Firefighters will again be visiting area schools as part of Fire Prevention Week. Fire Inspector Brent Smith said grease-fire safety will also be a local topic for discussion this year.
“We go around to every school,” he said. “We see 1,480 students, K-6 grade in Great Bend. This is our opportunity to meet with them, be around them, and teach them about fire safety.”
This year’s GBFD demonstration at the schools will include the kitchen prop. Firefighter Garrett Tindall said the demonstration includes a regular household oven range and just a small amount of vegetable oil and water – things people use at home - but the results are explosive.
“Cooking is a big part of everybody’s lives, but being safe in the kitchen is very important,” said Tindall. “Part of that is we’re going to teach kids how to put out a grease fire if you have one, and most importantly, not to put water on a grease fire. Ever. That’s a very good way to spread the fire all throughout your kitchen and on you.”
The school visits also allow younger students to see firefighters in their bunker gear up close and personal. The goal is that, should an emergency arise, the firemen will not look as scary. The kitchen demonstration gives the students the opportunity to see a real-life fire situation.
“It’s a massive fireball,” Tindall said. “It really is impressive. There’s not that much grease in that pan, and we only use about a half a cup of water. It will send a fireball 10-15 feet into the air.”
Fires need four ingredients to burn: fuel, heat, oxygen, and a self-sustaining chemical chain reaction. Proper cooking utensils, including a lid that fits properly, is the best way to stop a grease fire.
“The lid, you put that on there, and that will stop the air, or oxygen, from getting to the fire,” Tindall said. “It will still be hot, so move it off the burner, but that will put the fire out.”
Baking soda can also be used to extinguish a grease fire, though Tindall said it is important to note it must be baking soda and not baking powder or flour.