A Wingstop customer who was just trying to order up some boneless wings accidentally stumbled upon restaurant staff dealing with a fire in a way that TikTokers are saying was ineffective and risky.
Nate (@nathanishimothy) uploaded a viral clip to the popular social media application that’s garnered over 286,000 views as of Wednesday afternoon. The video captures the hectic scene, along with his disbelief at what he walked into.
Nate begins his recording by showing several Wingstop employees attempting to put out a fire that broke out in the establishment’s kitchen.
“Man, that’s insane. They just caught the whole f*cking Wingstop on fire,” the TikToker loudly exclaims in the clip.
“Yooooo! Yoooo! Oh naw…oh my God. I’m out this hoe. Go home, clock out early, go home,” he says in a second part of the video as he drives away from the Wingstop where a group of the chain’s employees can be seen standing outside with the front doors open allowing the smoke from inside the restaurant to funnel outdoors.
Nate explained in a caption for the video: “was jus tyna get a 8pc boneless.”
So why did the fire become as unruly and smokey as it did? Several folks had ideas as to what caused the situation to get out of hand, referencing the fact that one of the kitchen workers was holding what appeared to be a hose in the clip as they tried to spray water on the fire in order to quell the flames.
“HES POURING WATER ON A GREASE FIRE????” one commenter asked.
@nathanishimothy was jus tyna get a 8pc boneless😭😭#foryoupage #xyzbca ♬ original sound – nate🥷
According to Very Well Health, pouring water on a grease fire is almost always a bad idea, as doing so can cause the grease to splash about. Fire, which sticks to the grease/oil in this scenario, can move around due to the impact of the water against the grease, which means that spraying a grease fire with a hose just spreads the immolation around further: “Never try to extinguish a grease fire with water. Throwing water on the fire can cause burning grease to splash, which can make the fire spread and potentially harm bystanders. It is dangerous to move a pan or pot of burning oil for the same reasons,” the outlet writes.
So how does one effectively put out a grease fire? Very Well recommends following several steps, the first of which involves cutting out the source of energy that started the fire in the first place, like a stove. If possible, turn off the stove, oven, or apparatus from which the flames are emanating.
Since fire feeds off of oxygen, finding a way to limit its access to oxygen can help control and ultimately quell these flames. If fire is emerging from a pot, dropping a lid on it can help end a fire for good. If it’s occurring in an oven, closing the oven’s door will help expedite the extinguishing process. Sometimes, however, flames can spread to areas of one’s home where cutting off oxygen is not an option. Hitting them with a fire extinguisher can help, but if one doesn’t have access to that, then tossing salt or baking soda, the outlet says, is way more effective at dousing the flames. Water, again, will almost always make matters worse.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Wingstop via email and Nathan via TikTok comment for further information.