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That moment when the fryer oil caught fire mid-service
It was a Friday night rush at this little bistro in Portland, around 7pm, and the fryer basket got stuck. I tried to fish it out with tongs, but the oil splashed and hit the gas flame... next thing I know, there's a 3-foot column of fire. I just grabbed the metal lid and covered the fryer, killed the gas, and yelled for everyone to back off. Took about 10 minutes to calm the kitchen down, but we got back to tickets after a quick cleanup. Has anyone else had a close call with a fryer that made you rethink your whole setup?
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the_nathan1mo ago
3-foot column of fire" just sounds like a normal shift to me. Did the tickets actually stop coming in or did you guys just stand around waiting for something exciting to happen?
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terryk281mo ago
Got curious about that myself actually. Used to think bigger fires = more exciting, but watching a 3-foot column of flame shoot out of a sidewalk grate changes your mind quick. It's not the size, it's the panic you see in people's faces when they realize their lunch spot might explode. They shut down the whole block for two hours while the gas company dug up the street. Tickets definitely stopped coming in because nobody could get within 200 feet of the place. Stand around waiting? No, we were running hot trying to wave traffic away from the flames. You'd be surprised how many drivers ignore a column of fire until they smell their own bumper melting.
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Man that sounds TERRIFYING. I've had my share of close calls and it's always that split second where everything goes sideways that makes you question every safety shortcut you've ever taken. Good on you for keeping your head and grabbing the lid instead of running around screaming like most people would. That 10 minutes of calming everyone down is probably the hardest part, getting people to stop panicking so you can actually focus on the problem. I bet you looked at that fryer different the whole next week.
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