Sushi topping sparks Greenfield kitchen fire; tempura flakes dangers

GREENFIELD, Wis. - They are crunchy, delicious and can go up in flames. The tempura flakes put on top of sushi have been the reason for many fires in Wisconsin.

The Greenfield Fire Department answers countless calls daily, but recently one stood out.

We don’t go to many "crunch fires," said Devin Shade of the Greenfield Fire Department.

Last month after the kitchen closed at Jin's Sushi and Seafood Bar, something else was cooking up.

 Jin's Sushi and Seafood Bar

"It was just smoking the entire time," said Shade.

Surveillance shows the moment the smoke turned to fire. A sprinkler overhead quenched the flames. 

"I got the phone call right around 2 a.m.," said Shade, "You see this bowl, more of a colander, with what looked like rice in it, and it didn’t make sense for rice just to spontaneously combust."

It wasn't rice, but instead, it was tempura flakes. The tiny crunchy pieces turned into a bowl of fire.

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Rice before the fire

"I was very confused to try to figure out how does this crunch just spontaneously like go up in flames," Shade said.

It isn't how the crunch is made but how it's stored that caused the fire.

"In that container, it doesn’t really have a chance to cool," said Shade. "So, the heat generates more heat, and that’s when it spontaneously combusts."

Fires like this have happened across the country. In 2019 Tempura Crunch sparked a fire at a restaurant in Madison and another in West Allis. A delicious food that comes with a warning.

"Just to keep a watchful eye on it, make sure that it properly cools," said Shade.

The best way to prevent this type of fire is to spread the crunch out on a baking sheet. Make it at a time of the day when you can keep an eye on it.