Two days later the facility experienced a surplus of laundry and as a result towels, linens, and robes were placed in … There were no flames to speak of, but it was still concerning. – derobert Jun 19 '11 at 5:42 If at all in doubt, call the fire department. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought grapeseed oil had a fairly high smoke point. I then poured a bit of grapeseed oil on it, and it immediately caught on fire. The fire should go out fairly quickly (especially in an electric oven) from lack of oxygen. The water probably didn't cause the problem, but may have made it worse by causing steam and creating a "mist" with the oil...which then caught on fire. So extra-virgin olive oil — aromatic, flavorful — has a much lower smoke point than something like an odorless, flavorless refined vegetable oil, … Fortunately, it wasn't a lof of oil, so it burned down quickly before setting my fan on fire -- whew; but the whole freakin kitchen/living room was filled with smoke. When an oil does catch on fire, this is known as the flash point. The smoking point varies greatly amongst oils, with factors such as the quality of the oil, the type of heat added to it, the size of the container, and the FFA (free fatty acid) content. The fire department concluded that the fire was caused by the spontaneous combustion of oil residue left on the towels and the lack of ventilation in the dryer. Once you’ve reached the fire point, it is not enough to simply remove the pan from the heat. People have used olive oil with cotton or linen wicks to cleanse the air around them and to keep flames burning for light for thousand of years. This mainly stems from debate about olive oil's smoke point, which is the point at which the oil literally starts to smoke (and may catch fire if it continues to be heated). A good amount of oil ended up spilling in my oven and my apartment quickly flooded with smoke and an awful smell. Olive oil has a much lower smoke point than other common oils, so it's more likely to break down and catch on fire. Heating to this point starts to degrade the oil and breaks down its health-promoting compounds. The flash point is bad enough, but if you reach the fire point””about 700°F – you are in for some trouble. Burning olive oil will smolder and put itself out or at least give you time to put it out. And Then There Is The Fire Point. For the same reason that water eventually boils if it’s left on the burning stove for a long enough time: the temperature of the substance in question rises, and eventually a chemical reaction takes place. Olive oil has a smoke point between 365 and 420°F. Also, it should be noted that if your oven does catch fire, close the door and turn off the heat. After I turned off the oven and I could see through the … The fire point is the point at which the vapors coming from the oil catch on fire rather explosively. 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