Fires at home often begin unintentionally, with the kitchen being a frequent hotspot.
Faulty appliances might spark a fire, as can careless smoking or leaving candles unattended. Awareness of what to do in such situations is vital since fires can escalate quickly and become life-threatening.
Meanwhile, on X, now Twitter, users have been surprised to learn from the ‘Today Years Old’ account, which has accumulated over 1.1 million followers, about a household item which can extinguish fires in mere moments.
Along with the video, the caption read: “I was today years old when I found out you could use baking soda. This information could literally save your life.”
Accompanying the message, firefighters showed how to handle domestic blazes properly. Opposed to instinctively tossing water onto a fire, which could be hazardous, one can sprinkle baking soda from the kitchen pantry directly onto the flames.
The video demonstrated that even a simple sprinkling of baking soda can snuff out the blaze. The firefighter emphasises: “Do not use water on a fire.”
While baking soda can douse small grease fires, if they are large, it requires substantial amounts – though a fire extinguisher is recommended.
Baking soda is effective because it smothers the fire by releasing carbon dioxide, cutting off the oxygen supply, and it’s not just for grease fires in the kitchen as it also works on electrical fires.
Alternately, salt can also be a helpful ally as it smothers the flames in addition to using a lid to cover them, however, a considerable amount of salt is required to effectively tackle the fire.
Since being uploaded, the clip has amassed a staggering 315,000 views and received 2,000 likes. One viewer commented: “Great video! This is why I keep baking soda in my house. I had a small fire in my oven. I used baking soda to put it out.”
Another remarked: “Baking soda is the unsung hero we didn’t know we needed.” A third questioned: “Really? ” While a fourth contributed: “Good info.”
Someone else criticised: “Glad you know now. Why do some folks make fun of others just because they already had certain knowledge? We need to do better.”