"K" classification fights restaurant grease fires
Fires involving cooking media (grease, fats and oils) in commercial
cooking appliances are unlike most other fires because these oils have a
wide range of auto-ignition temperatures.
Auto-ignition occurs when the oils reach high temperatures, typically
above 400 degrees F. Once the oil is burning, the entire mass of oil
must be cooled below its auto-ignition temperature to be extinguished.
In the United States, the designation "Class K" was recently assigned to
these cooking media fires. This new classification is recognized by the
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard for the
Installation of Portable Fire Extinguishers, NFPA 10, and the UL
Standard for the Rating and Fire Testing of Fire Extinguishers, ANSI/UL
711.
