Hi NC,

What other parts of your house are attached to the kitchen? Is there a pantry, mud room, or garage where you can put the fire extinguisher? If so, how about hiding it in one of those, but really close to the door so you can grab it quickly?

In my current place I have it mounted on the wall in my garage, about 9" from the side of the door from the kitchen, so I can grab it quickly if I need to. It's also handy from the garage workbench, which is a nice bonus since I'm occasionally doing crazy things out there with blowtorches, heat guns, or soldering irons. (Confession: the extinguisher pulled loose from the wall and is currently sitting on the floor 9" from the side of the door. But it's the thought that counts.)

In the new place I'm building the kitchen will be quite a bit farther from the garage. But I'll have a pantry, so I'll probably put the extinguisher just inside that door.

Laura

Thanks for the reminder! Mine never made it back into the kitchen either! I keep one under my kitchen sink, one in my pantry, one in my closet, one in the upstairs bedroom (only room upstairs) and one in the garage. The one in the garage is the only one the is out in the open. The others are all easily accessible but they're behind a door or in a closet.

Mine is in the pantry, about one step and an opening of the door away from the range.

Ours is in the pantry Also one in the basement. Oops, better show DH new location
Thanks for the reminder!

Mine is under the kitchen sink.

There are several different types of extinguishers, including ones for electrical fires and ones for cooking oil fires. Just make sure you purchase the right type for the location it will be in.

I'm sure your local fire department would be happy to help you choose if needed.

Under my kitchen sink.

I have one in the pantry, only steps away from the stove.

But, I guess it would be a good idea to get a couple more now that others mentioned it. We just bought a new grill so certainly having one near the garage would make sense for sure!

Last thing out of the kitchen when I moved and first thing back in ... 'cause what good is a beautiful kitchen if it burns to the ground?! Mine is about half way between the cooktop and the back door, it's one extra step to the oven.

Here's a couple photos. It's ugly, but I don't care. As much as I love beautiful things, safety always comes first.

Before there was anything else in the kitchen - stuck out a bit like a sore thumb (sorry for the large photo, can't seem to resize for some reason):{{!gwi}}

A bit more hidden now that there's more "stuff" in my kitchen:

Just yesterday I was planning a wall niche for mine, three steps back of the cooktop and by an entryway. I'd rather have it visible, in case someone needs it who doesn't know where I keep stuff.

Sitting on the window sill about 4' from the range.

Thank you all! I can't believe I didn't get around to bringing back the fire extinguisher. I saw it in the hall closet last night and remembered. (It's pretty close to the kitchen but not the first place you'd look in a panic, that's for sure.)

I looked at a website and also called my neighborhood fire station. The local firefighter said that under a sink is acceptable for residences; for foster homes etc it has to be mounted on a wall. He and the online site both said that the ideal location is in full view somewhere on the path out of the kitchen, so you don't have to go toward the flames to get to it. He acknowledged that people don't always want a fire extinguisher hanging on their kitchen wall and wasn't concerned about someone having it in a cabinet. The website was a little more alarmist than he was and said it should be out in plain sight so the babysitter could find it fast. (!)

During all this I also ran across an America's Test Kitchen video review of fire extinguishers. Their online written review has a lot more information (including a description of the terrible performance of some of them) but I'm not a subscriber so I couldn't access the whole thing. The video review is helpful, though, so I'll link it.

If you all see a fire extinguisher on the wall when/if I finally get around to posting finished kitchen pics, you will know that I took the babysitter thing to heart... (we pretty much never hire babysitters, but still).

Here is a link that might be useful: Fire extinguisher review on Youtube

ilene-84's comment about electrical fire is true. Yes, you can easily buy Class ABC (the "C" designator refers to electrical) extinguishers, it can be very difficult to _put out_ an electrical fire unless the source of the fire (the electricity) has been turned off - which usually turns it into a class A fire.

Fire extinguishers stored in highly visible locations outside of "high risk" fire areas are a great idea. FLEE the fire first, to a safe location where you can grab a fire extinguisher. Remember, it's not the flames or heat that kill first, it's the smoke.

Dave (volunteer firefighter)

As a volunteer fireman, I would recommend that your fire extinguisher be 10' or more from your stove. If you catch a fire early that is great, but many are not caught that fast. Fire/heat compounds itself far quicker than someone whom hasn't been through one can imagine. IF you are going to keep it closer than 10', another fire extinguisher should be somewhere in the home.

Thanks very much for the advice, Dave and otislilly!

Thanks for that advice, Otis.

Otislilly & Dave- good suggestions - I was thinking of public buildings and the pull alarms are generally by the exits, so you are safe first and then fight if safe.