Re: ATM heating pitch

[kevin@aquilagroup.com (Kevin Ferguson)]

>Kurt Hillig  had said
>>If you have a pot of pitch that catches fire, the best way to put the fire
>>out is to put the lid on the pot. With a fire extinguisher, you run the
>>risk of blowing flaming pitch all over your kitchen. 

And Stephen Tonkin offered:
>This assumes that you have a lid for your pan. In our kitchen we have a
>fire-blanket.

I ,and the other ATM I have seen do it, both melt pitch in coffee cans.
A pot with a lower center of gravity would probably be wise, but the
disposable nature, and handy plastic lid  (for storing
seftover pitch) make coffee cans irresistable.

While near ideal for the most common cooking fire (a frying pan with
a shallow layer of hot grease in it) using the fire blanket risks 
tipping over the pitch pot, which likely turns a minor excitement
problem into a crisis. I second Dr. Hillig's lid suggestion. The lid
need not fit the pot well, as long as it is bigger. A flat plate (glass
metal, stoneware etc.) works just fine.  Though I've never had a
pitch fire, I've had several when oil-hardening tool steel.  The whole
key is not to panic...just gently cover the container, taking care not
to tip it over.

Besides a cover plate, I also keep a fire extinguiser available too, just 
in case things get _really_ out of hand.

-Kevin