Grill Grease Fire - recovery possible?

[carlscan26]

Well, 2020 I am done with you. I knew the grill was on the dirty side but I didn’t think it would catch fire 🤢

I fired it up, set a timer for five minutes and walked away. When I came back at the end of the timer, expecting a hot grill, what I found instead was fire in the grease pan, the drawer, and on my grill grates. I grabbed an ABC extinguisher and it made quick work of the flames. So that’s the good news.

I’ll have to wait till morning to know for sure but I believe the grill is fine other than needing a deep cleaning.

Does anyone have experience cleaning up the ABC powder? I assume it’s non toxic but not safe to ingest. Just how thoroughly do I need to clean the grill? Back to new clean or just remove all of the obvious dirt grease and ABC powder? Any advice on how to go about cleaning this up? I’m going to google this but was wondering if anyone had grill specific experience and advice.

Thanks in advance!

[rickgregory]

I'd deep clean it. it will take more time and elbow grease but a) it apparently needs it and b) I'd rather be safe...

[carlscan26]

Yeah I’m definitely not afraid to spend the time and effort - I love this grill.

[tbob4]

CaptainMike ? He is your resource here. Googling is fine but a firefighter who BBQ’s is better than anything you will find on the net.

[carlscan26]

I knew I came here first for a reason

[willxfmr]

Here are the highlights..

Monoammonium phosphate fire extinguishers are used to put out Class ABC fires. This type of residue must be cleaned by hand because it can irritate the skin and eyes if resuspended in the air with a vacuum cleaner. If this type of extinguisher was used, you can remove residue from the floor by wet-sweeping or sweeping with a dust suppressant.

And here is the full link. As always, be safe.

[bbqLuv]

Interesting, I have but never used our ABC Fire Extinguisher. But then I have had only one small grease fire. I just let it burnout.
I learned real quick to keep my grill clean. Grease fires and burning embers reported on the Weber Smokefire is the reason to not recommend it to anyone.
I "Love" my pellet grill, so I inspect it for build-up before each use.

[Donw]

Luckily there was no electronics involved such as in a pellet grill. Thank goodness, otherwise the best action is to replace all the electronics. ABC powder is corrosive, especially when wet. As stated above, throughly wet clean and dry every space and square inch of your cooker by hand twice with a drying period between cleanings. One of the companies I own is a licensed fire extinguisher service agency. We have to constantly clean our trucks and office because of even small leaks and spills.)

[CaptainMike]

I think this covers it pretty well.

[carlscan26]

Thanks Donw !

[carlscan26]

Thanks for all the follow up info. I’ve finished my first pass at cleaning the grill. Letting it dry now. Messy job to say the least.