MAIB: Vessel cook injured by spillage of burning cooking oil

On an offshore support vessel, a cook was deep-frying fish in a shallow-sided gimballed “gyro” frying pan. Unbeknown to the cook the pan’s thermostat was faulty. The oil overheated, started smoking and ignited shortly afterwards. The cook activated the fixed wet chemical fire-extinguishing system. As the wet chemical filled the gimballed frying pan the burning oil spilled out onto the galley deck, covering the cook’s legs and feet in boiling oil.

The cook collapsed to the deck of the galley, shouting for help. The cook’s screams were heard by a passing crew person, who ran into the galley and dragged the cook out of danger. The wet chemical had successfully extinguished the fire in the pan, but had made a mess of the galley and severely injured the cook.

The electric supply to the gyro pan was isolated and the oil was left to cool in the pan before being removed. The cook was airlifted to hospital and treated for burns.

• The cook routinely used the gyro pans to fry fish because the galley’s two deep fat fryers took a long time to heat up and needed a lot of oil. The MAIB notes that a gyro pan is unsuitable for use as a deep fat fryer due to the risk of oil splashing or spilling out over the shallow sides.
• The thermostat was faulty. Safety devices such as thermostats can malfunction, leading to unsafe situations if solely relied on.
• The activation of the fixed firefighting system installed above the pan caused the hot oil to spill out over the shallow sides when the wet chemical was deployed. Emergency systems and appliances might not function as expected on contact with incorrectly used equipment – this had serious consequences in this instance.