Today's action: Taking out the pan

A kitchen fire call. That's when I can only hope that people knew what to do, especially on a Sunday around noon, when often children are making something to eat while parents are having some time off for themselves. Of course I could never know what the situation was in this case, but still. Throwing water on a pan that caught fire does have a disastrous effect and will set a kitchen ablaze within a blink of an eye.

So I got out and rushed to the address indicated on my pager, less than 5 minutes from my home. There it seemed that indeed a pan on the stove caught fire, but the kitchen was not totally ablaze and the people were outside, unhurt. That is the most important thing. I think the family did the safest thing for themselves and got out of the house immediately. They probably did not try to put out the fire by putting a cover on the pan. But, more importantly, they did not try to put out the fire by throwing water on it either.

So it seems the right call was made here. But still, when panicking and not knowing, people might do the wrong thing. Therefor be sure to know what to do. Talk about escape plans and do fire drills. And in case the pan does catch fire and you can not put it out by putting the cover over the pan and shutting off the stove, get out immediately and call the fire department. They are trained in taking out the pan.