Camp/RV Cooking Fire Safety Tips

Campfires are a big part of camping. And properly constructed and managed they are safe. We addressed general Campfire Safety in a previous post. If you follow the recommended procedures you should be OK.   But occasionally you may encounter out of control fires, even when cooking on a camp stove or an RV range.  Some foods are more prone to flare up than others, and  grease fires can occur anytime there is grease or cooking oil in the pan.  A little splash over the edge creates a path for flames to sneak back into the pan.   An unexpected breeze might whip campfire flames up into your bacon or burgers and start a conflagration.

Anytime you have a pan catch on fire you first move to control the flames should be to cover the pan to smother the flames.  Put a properly sized lid on the pan or cover it with a damp towel.  Don't use a fire extinguisher.  The force of the extinguishing agent can often splatter burning grease or other ingredients and spread the fire and I don't know of any fire extinguisher that will enhance the flavor of food.  You can use baking soda to smother flames, but, again, that might contaminate your food.  DO NOT use flour!  Although it looks similar to baking soda it is flammable, so much so that about a cup of flour dust has the explosive power of about 2 sticks of dynamite!  Never put water on a grease fire.  I've seen fire department demonstrations of what happens.  The water, being heavier than oil, goes right to the bottom of the pan where it is super heated and expands to steam with explosive force, blasting flaming oil all over!

If your campfire seems to be getting out of control, shovel some dirt on it or drag some of the fuel out until it is once again manageable. If you drag fuel out of a fire, make sure you don't put in on combustible materials like grass and weeds or near your wood pile. Avoid problems in the first place by following proper campfire procedures and not over-loading your fire. Most of us tend to make our campfires way too big. Bonfires sometimes have a place, but for the most part, campfires should be kept fairly small. An old Indian proverb gives us a good way of examining whether our campfires are an appropriate size:  white man build big fire, stand way back.  Indian build small fire, get real close. The larger the group, the larger your fire will need to be to keep everyone warm on cool nights around the campfire, but don't make it any bigger than it needs to be or you'll just be wasting fuel. If you find yourselves having to back away from the fire, it is getting too big. If everyone is crowding up to the edge of the fire pit and fighting for a spot, throw on another log or two.  Another problem of fires that are too large is that they may create more smoke for you and your companions to have to deal with.  Smoke isn't much of problem on calm nights when the smoke goes straight up, but how often does that happen?  Mostly you'll have to deal with at least some breeze and, most often, it tends to shift so you have to keep moving around the fire so it isn't blowing smack in your face. Cooking fires should mostly be kept fairly small so you can control them and so they cook your food and not you!

If you have a flame up while cooking on your camp stove or RV range (or at home for that matter), DO NOT pour water on it. Flame ups usually occur when cooking with grease and water will splatter the grease and spread the fire. Water may also result in an explosive reaction that can shower you with hot grease and/or scalding steam as the water is instantly vaporized by the hot grease. The water is heavier than the oil and sinks to the bottom where it instantly becomes superheated and virtually explodes, sending flaming oil all over the place. Cover the burning pan with a lid or wet towel or douse it with baking soda. Covering a burning pot with a lid is even preferable to using a fire extinguisher since the force of the agents from the extinguisher may splash hot grease out of the pan, potentially causing injuries and spreading the fire. If you don't have a lid or baking soda handy (which you ALWAYS should as a precaution), you may be able to smother the pan with a blanket, pillow, or heavy towel. Light fabrics are more likely to catch fire. You want something that is thick enough to smother the flames before it too becomes another part of the problem. A dry dish towel is likely to just add fuel, a throw pillow will probably smother the flames before it burns. If all you have is a towel or dishtowel, get it wet and wring it out, then drape it over the flaming pot.  Baking soda can be used to suppress fire.  Do NOT use flour or sugar to try to put out a fire. They are flammable, and the dust can even be explosive! Tossing it into the flames can result in a spectacular blast. One cup of flour under the right conditions can create a blast equivalent to 2 sticks of dynamite!

If flames flash over from your campfire into your dinner, a simple solution may be to simply sacrifice your dinner -- dump it into the fire and let it burn instead of risking personal injury or spreading the fire by trying to save the flaming mess. Sometimes just removing it from the fire will allow the flames to die down.  If you have a lid or a heavy towel, cover the burning pot or pan to smother the flames.  Do NOT try to rush into your RV with a flaming pan to get something to put it out. You should always have appropriate fire suppression materials handy whenever and where ever you are cooking, but if you forget and insist on trying to save your dinner, put the flaming pan down outside before going inside to get what you need. Better that your dinner is a little over-cooked than you or your equipment become toast!

Planning ahead. Regardless of whether you're cooking on an RV range, a camp stove, or over a campfire, always plan ahead for fire suppression. Keep an appropriate sized lid and a box of baking soda nearby. When using a campfire, always have a bucket of sand or dirt or water and a shovel handy. Run a few scenarios through your mind and mentally practice what you will do if a problem develops. If you've already decided you will dump your dinner in the fire if it catches fire you will be able to react more quickly and perhaps avoid serious injuries. Run through at least mental exercises (physical practice would be even better) for grabbing the lid or baking soda to control a flame-up so you won't have to take time to think about it if/when a real emergency presents itself. When something unexpected happens, especially something dangerous, we are startled and that slows our reaction time and can muddle our thought processes. Adrenalin kicks in and instinct triggers a fight or flight reaction. Having planned and practiced our responses helps us avoid panic and stay in control and lets us direct the adrenalin-fueled energy in a more productive way.

When cooking in your RV, keep curtains, towels, aprons, and any other flammable materials away from the stove. Maintain adequate ventilation.  Never cook in your tent or under an awning. When cooking outdoors, whether over a campfire or on a camp stove, stay away from trees and bushes (overhead as well as around your campfire) that could catch fire and maintain a safe distance from any tents, vehicles, or people.

When cooking on a campfire, be sure to protect your hands.   Wear leather gloves and use appropriate tools to handle hot pots and pans.  I have found that Channel-lok style pliers work best for me.  There are also "lid lifters" you can use effectively for lids on dutch ovens and other pots on the campfire. 

Keep it under control!