Do you have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen?

[Canice]

As with so many things, we've all been told we "should"...but do we?? Do you have one handy??

[SusanL]

to the left of the oven. Have never had to use it but it is there!!

[HejazSunKat]

I have one but only because it was provided by the facilities people where I'm living. I don't get the credit for thinking of it. It's a large, industrial size one that is so heavy I don't know if I could even pick it up in a kitchen emergency, nor do I know how to operate it. Thanks for bringing this up Canice. My kitchen at home really does need one.

[wallycat]

we have one. Not sure if they "expire" :confused:
Haven't really looked at it much...it's in a drawer...DH put it in there...18 years ago :eek:

[slknight]

I voted yes, but don't know how to use it. Although I probably should have voted "yes/maybe." I think it's under my sink; guess I should double-check. It's probably buried under the extra sponges, lightbulbs, and cleaning supplies.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[clairea]

I have one in the front of an upper cabinet near the stove.

Wallycat, there should be a little pressure gauge near the top of the fire extinguisher. Mine has a green area marked "full" and a red area marked "empty". When the pointer drops down into the red area the fire extinguisher needs to be replaced. After 18 years, I would guess it probably needs replacing!

Claire

[lhall]

Yes!

After 2 years on MIL/FIL's Christmas list I finally switched it to Dad's this past Christmas.

Leigh

[funnybone]

We have one in the kitchen and one in the garage. I have not had to use it, but DH did once at the neighbors house. She came running over that her oven was on fire. He went over and extinguished the flame. It turned out there was a problem with the oven - good thing she was in the kitchen when it first sparked. THAT made me realize that it was very important to have one one hand.

[linsleyd]

Yes, definetly, absolutly, would never be without one! Once your house burns down you would definetly have one and know how to work it!
I suggest all of you make sure you have a current one and learn how to use it!

[Melman]

I have one also...right inside the cabinet under my sink. I have the same question about whether it expires or not. I think mine is probably 14 years old. This is a great topic though. I feel pretty certain I should buy a replacement.

[HRJ]

Yes, I have one on the pantry shelf closest to the stove -- DH always yells at me because I end up putting food in front of it, so it's not as accessible as it should be :o

And, I'm not sure I know how to use it -- I know I've read the instructions in the past, but I don't think I'd immediately know how to use it if I needed it. Guess I should go look them over again.

Here's another safety tip I learned from KathrynY, during our Boston weekend: if you have a fireplace, keep a fire extinguisher nearby, in case the fire flares out of control. I think it's a great idea, but I still haven't done so. :o

Helene

[Zinnia]

I have 3.. 2 are in my kitchen-one by my stove and one on a wall mount by the entry and one is in the living room.. They need to be "serviced" regularly or re-filled when the gauges read empty. I would NEVER be without them and I think they are VERY important.
If you have them, learn how to use them and go and check right now to make sure they are filled. Like my smoke detector/carbon monoxide detector batteries, I check them every 2 months. It could save your house or your life, IMO.. :) Zinnia

[JHolcomb]

Believe it. I'm very accident prone, so we keep one in the kitchen where I can get to it easily. Luckily I've not needed it (came really close to using it 2 or 3 times, but was able to smother the fire with ease). Yet. Ours is a little more than a year old, it's about time to check it and see how it's doing.

And I know how to use it, btw. I had to learn how to operate a fire extinguisher as a part of OSHA training.

[KathrynY]

Yes - have one, know how to use it. Actually we have an all-purpose extinguisher in the hallway that serves for both kitchen and living room fireplace (very small house). DH's father is a firefighter so it's been made very clear to us how terribly important it is to have a working fire extinguisher in the house. We replace ours every year or two (whenever they expire).

Now - while you're thinking about it, how about getting one for your car too? :)

[KCSoccer]

A month ago, our neighbor had a flash grease fire on her stove. If she had not had a fire extinguisher, she probably would've lost her house.

I promptly went out an bought a new extinguisher (<$10) at Lowe's and placed it right under the sink next to the dishsoap. My old extinguisher was at least 10 years old and was buried way back in a cabinet where I wouldn't have been able to find it. I've also made sure that the kids and DH know where it is and how to use it.

It just so happened that our homeschool group had a field trip to the firestation this month, so I asked the fireman if fire extinguishers expire. He said first to check the label on your extinguisher, but that 4-5 years was a good rule of thumb. He said that, after about 5 years, the chemicals in the extinguisher start to lose their potency.

[LaraW]

Originally posted by Melman
I have the same question about whether it expires or not.

There should be a guage on the fire extinguisher that will tell you if it is properly charged or not. You can extend the life of your fire extinguisher by periodically turning it upside down and shaking it. It helps loosen up the powder that is in there so the propellant will work properly when (if) its discharged.

That said, I need to check mine and make sure that its still "good". Ours is under the sink in the kitchen, we have one in the basement near DH's work bench area, and one in the garage.

[Beth]

We keep one in the kitchen, one in the garage and at least one upstairs. I have only had to use one once many years ago when we discovered the damper in the fireplace was not open and could not get to it to open it with the fire burning and smoke coming out. :o

[Gail]

Yes.

After my husband caught me casually blowing out a flaming piece of toast like a birthday candle :p , he was home the next day with a fire extinguisher.

[jmarie]

:D Actually, I have THREE!

I have given a fire extinguisher as a shower gift, a housewarming gift and a birthday gift. After having lost everything I owned in a fire some 30 years ago, it gave me a perspective that I never forgot.:rolleyes:

[BosunsWife]

Its a mandatory piece of equipment installed in military housing. Ours is under the sink in the kitchen. My parents have one in their utility room (adjacent to the kitchen).

[phantomcg]

Yes, we have one - but it was left here by the people that we bought the house from, so it really should be replaced.

Cheryl

[ISAIAH30_18]

We have one but mainly because we got a discount on our insurance if we had one. I've never read the instructions...I'm going on the assumption of point-and-shoot.....maybe pull a pin. Hmmm....maybe I'll look tonight.

[jmarie]

You need to kind of give the extinguisher a shake every month or so because all of the contents kind of settle to the bottom, rendering the extinguisher useless, I have been told.

[Leisa M]

I vivdly remember my mom catching fire to grease in her kitchen while dad and I were fishing. She put it out with flour but....

I bought one when we moved to this house in 1994. I probably need to check it (or have it checked).

[muriel3002]

Originally posted by wallycat
we have one. Not sure if they "expire" :confused:
Haven't really looked at it much...it's in a drawer...DH put it in there...18 years ago :eek:

Yes, you need to get your fire extinguisher tested every few years. Some extinguishers have a pressure dial on them and will indicate when they need to be recharged. If you've had it for 18 years I'm sure it should be recharged.

[AnnaSue]

Just wanted to bump this thread up. I remember reading this thread when it was first posted, and planned to buy a fire extinguisher, but.... never did. Well, last night I really wish I had one, because all of a sudden my oven caught fire. The whole thing was engulfed in flames, and my once white stove, is now pretty much black. (Fortunately, the black stuff seems to be coming off). I had no idea what to do, and was worried my baby would get hurt and ended up picking him up and bolting out of the kitchen. Thankfully DH was home (and was much calmer than I was :o ), and he was able to put out the fire with a bunch of wet towels before it reached the cabinets. Just thought I'd bring this up again for anyone, like me, who has been meaning to buy a fire extinguisher. I'm not using the oven again until I get one!

[AnnaSue]

Why didn't this bump up?:confused:

[KristaMB]

AnnaSue, how scary! I am one of those who have been meaning to buy one but haven't. Thanks for the extra reminder.

What's so stupid about me not having one, is that I've been trained to use them by my company, and I recently had to take another online training on them.

A quick usage guide is PASS:
Pull the pin
Aim
Squeeze the handle
Sweep across the base of the fire

[Escher]

Originally posted by Leisa M
I vivdly remember my mom catching fire to grease in her kitchen while dad and I were fishing. She put it out with flour but....

I bought one when we moved to this house in 1994. I probably need to check it (or have it checked).

I think you just did a disservice to everyone by suggesting that flour could be used to put out fires.

Flour is combustible, and will NOT put out a fire. To prove this, put some flour in a can, shake it up, and throw a match into it....I used to do this as a kid, just for kicks....

I also suggest you all READ what type of extinguisher it is....
IE, what do you think will happen when you pull the pin and squeeze....

will water come out?
will CO2 come out?
will dry-chem come out?

The answer is important....because different fires don't respond well to all extinquishers....

(For example, one wouldn't want to go willy-nilly spraying water at an electrical fire--or all over the plugged in electrical appliances that may be in your kitchen....)

[Gilgamesh37]

Well, I can't vote any longer, but YES absolutely and I would not be without one--have one in the kitchen, one in the living room by the fireplace, and one in my car. I do check them periodically, and I've had them recharged when they needed it. Fortunately, I have never had to use it (although my dad used mine once when he set fire to my toaster oven).

I'll also put in a plug for Carbon Monoxide Detectors. I've had one for years and never gave it much thought. When we moved into the new house and had the fireplace in our bedroom converted to gas, I slapped the detector into the wall plug, because somewhere in the back of my brain I thought "gas appliance = potentially dangerous." Christmas morning, around 1:45 a.m., it started to go off--not the "Run For Cover" continuous alarm, but the "Hey, Something's Not Right Here" sporadic alarm. Of course, I no longer hvae the instructions, so we weren't sure just WHAT the alarm actually meant, and DBF spent over an hour on the net trying to find out. It turned out that we DID have a problem--the ash pit from the upstairs (wood) fireplace is in our bedroom as well, and there were TONS of glowing coals down there (nuts in the shell figure prominently in our holiday time, and we'd been chucking the shells in the fireplace without giving it much thought--and lots of htem were falling into the pit intact, and THEN igniting). It was VERY scary, mostly because if we hadn't had the alarm, we never would have known, and who knows whether we would have woken up on Christmas morning or not. :(

[MrsReber]

Baking soda worked for me! I always heard to use it. When my toaster oven caught on fire, it was all I could think of (our extinguisher is in the garage). I tossed the baking powder on the flame and it went right out.

No substitute for a real fire extinguisher, but it did the trick in a pinch!

[Kay Henderson]

I have one in the pantry, which is just off the kitchen.

[Escher]

Baking soda is not combustible....plus, it has a small secondary benefit....when it is heated, it releases carbon dioxide, which helps to put out small fires.

Baking soda is ok....BUT NOT FLOUR!

[Leisa M]

Originally posted by Escher


I also suggest you all READ what type of extinguisher it is....
IE, what do you think will happen when you pull the pin and squeeze....

will water come out?
will CO2 come out?
will dry-chem come out?

The answer is important....because different fires don't respond well to all extinquishers....

(For example, one wouldn't want to go willy-nilly spraying water at an electrical fire--or all over the plugged in electrical appliances that may be in your kitchen....)

I just checked my extinguisher. It is for trash, grease and electric firese.