Auto-Ignition and Extinguishment by Water Mist
An experiment was conducted by people from the National Research Council of Canada
which gives insight into some properties of canola oil fires. “Characteristics of large cooking oil
pool fires and their extinguishment by water mist” heated up canola oil in a pan, let it auto-ignite,
and then analyzed the fire and extinguishing by water mist. Water mist is an effective
extinguishing method because it cools the fire, yet does not cause the large amount of spatter that
results from ordinary sprinklers. From a total of seven experiments, the auto-ignition
temperatures of canola oil ranged from 351-361 degrees C. (Liu) The smoke/oil vapor began
appearing over the oil surface when the oil was heated to 220 degrees C.