Which fire class is associated with combustible cooking products such as vegetable or animal oils and fats?

Which fire class is associated with combustible cooking products such as vegetable or animal oils and fats?

• A. Class A
• B. Class B
• C. Class K
• D. Class C

Answer: (C)

Fires involving cooking oils and fats burn at very high temperatures and can react differently than ordinary combustibles, so they need a specialized classification and extinguishing approach. This type of fire falls under Class K, which is dedicated to commercial cooking fats and oils such as vegetable oil, animal fats, and related cooking media. Class K extinguishers use a wet chemical agent that saponifies fats to create a soapy layer, cooling and smothering the fire and helping prevent reignition. This is why cooking-oil fires aren’t treated as Class B (flammable liquids) or Class A (ordinary combustibles) and aren’t electrical fires (Class C).

Fires involving cooking oils and fats burn at very high temperatures and can react differently than ordinary combustibles, so they need a specialized classification and extinguishing approach. This type of fire falls under Class K, which is dedicated to commercial cooking fats and oils such as vegetable oil, animal fats, and related cooking media. Class K extinguishers use a wet chemical agent that saponifies fats to create a soapy layer, cooling and smothering the fire and helping prevent reignition. This is why cooking-oil fires aren’t treated as Class B (flammable liquids) or Class A (ordinary combustibles) and aren’t electrical fires (Class C).