How to Put Out a Grease Fire (and Keep One From Starting)

This guide is for home cooks who fry, sauté or roast, especially during busy holiday cooking, and anyone setting up a new kitchen.

Cooking is the leading cause of home fires. Most start small, and the right first move keeps them that way. The wrong one, like a pot of water, can turn a pan fire into a kitchen fire in seconds. Here’s what to do on the stove, in the oven and on the grill, and how to make sure you never need to.

The quick answer

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) says to keep a pan lid or baking sheet nearby and to use it to cover the pan if it catches on fire, which will put out the fire.¹ If you see smoke or the grease starts to boil, turn the burner off.¹

Our advice: never pour water on a grease fire. Water can make burning oil splatter and spread the flames. Don’t try to carry the pan outside or to the sink, either.

Step by step: a grease fire on the stove

1. Cover the pan with a lid or baking sheet.¹ Slide it on from the side, keeping your arm out of the way of the flames (our advice).
2. Turn off the burner.¹
3. Leave the cover on until the pan has cooled completely (our advice). Lifting it early lets air back in, and hot oil can reignite.
4. Use a fire extinguisher if the fire isn’t out and it’s still small and contained (see below).⁴
5. Get out if it spreads. Ready.gov’s fire advice is to leave the home and call 9-1-1 or the fire department.³

Ready.gov warns that a fire can become life-threatening in just two minutes, and that a small flame can turn into a major fire in less than 30 seconds.³ Don’t spend long fighting it.

What not to do

Our advice, from the way oil fires behave:

• No water. Oil and water don’t mix; the water sinks, flashes to steam and throws burning oil out of the pan.
• Don’t move the pan. Carrying it spills burning oil on you and the floor.
• Don’t use flour or sugar. They aren’t the same as baking soda and can burn.
• Don’t fan the flames with a towel; that feeds the fire with air.

Also our advice: a small amount of baking soda can smother a very small grease fire, but you need a lot of it, and a lid is faster and more reliable.

Using a fire extinguisher

The USFA says to use an extinguisher only if all of these are true: everyone else has been alerted and is getting out, someone has called the fire department, you’re physically able, the fire is small and contained, you’re safe from the smoke, and you have a clear way out.⁴ If any of those isn’t true, alert others, leave and call 911 from outside.⁴

To use one, the USFA teaches PASS:⁴

• Pull the pin.
• Aim low, at the base of the fire.
• Squeeze the lever slowly and evenly.
• Sweep the nozzle from side to side.

Which extinguisher for a kitchen

The USFA explains the classes: Class B is for flammable liquids such as grease, gasoline and oil, and Class K is for vegetable and animal cooking oils in cooking appliances, mainly in commercial kitchens.⁴ For most homes, it says a multipurpose “B-C” or “A-B-C” extinguisher covers most fires.⁴ Look for a UL or ULC listing, and choose the largest one you can operate safely and comfortably.⁴

CPSC recommends keeping a certified fire extinguisher in the kitchen and knowing how to use it.² The USFA says to check it regularly: that it’s easy to reach, that the pressure gauge is in range, and that the can, hose and nozzle are in good shape.⁴

An oven or microwave fire

Our advice: keep the door closed and turn the appliance off. A closed oven or microwave starves the fire of air, and opening the door feeds it. Leave the door shut until the fire is out and the oven has cooled, then have the oven checked before using it again. If smoke keeps coming or flames escape, get out and call 911.

A grease fire on the grill

Our advice: turn off the burners and the gas at the tank, and close the lid to cut off the air. Never use water on a grease fire in a grill, for the same reason as on the stove. If the fire doesn’t go out with the lid closed or it spreads beyond the grill, move everyone away and call 911.

Deep frying at home

Most grease fires start with a pan of oil that got too hot. Our advice when you fry:

• Use a heavy, deep pot and fill it no more than about a third of the way, so the oil has room to bubble up when food goes in.
• Use a thermometer to keep the oil at the temperature the recipe calls for, and turn the heat down at the first wisp of smoke.
• Dry food well and lower it in slowly; water and ice crystals make hot oil spatter and foam.
• Keep the lid for that pot on the counter next to the stove before you start.

Why kitchen fires start

The USFA says cooking is, by far, the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries. It estimates that U.S. fire departments responded to 170,000 home cooking fires in 2021, causing 135 deaths, 3,000 injuries and more than $494 million in property loss.¹ The leading factor in those fires was unattended equipment (37%).¹

How to prevent one

• Stand by your pan. The USFA says that if you leave the kitchen, turn the burner off.¹ Ready.gov says to stay in the kitchen when you’re frying, grilling or broiling.³
• Watch the oil. Turn the burner off if you see smoke or the grease starts to boil.¹
• Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove.¹
• Keep the stovetop clear. CPSC says to keep towels, potholders and curtains away from hot surfaces, and to use knob covers or locks if small children or pets are around.²
• Have working smoke alarms inside and outside every sleeping area and on every floor, as CPSC recommends.² Ready.gov says never to disable a smoke alarm while cooking.³
• Keep a lid within reach every time you fry (our advice).

Kitchen checklist

• A lid or baking sheet next to the stove.
• A UL-listed B-C or A-B-C fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
• Never water on a grease fire.
• Oven or microwave fire: door closed, power off.
• Burner off whenever you step away.
• If it spreads, get out and call 911.

Related: smoke detector placement and space heater safety.