A wet dishcloth can be a one-size-fits-all lid to cover a fire in a pan!  This is a dramatic video (30-second, very short) about how to deal with a common kitchen fire...oil in a frying pan.  Read the following introduction, then watch the show...it's a real eye -opener!!

At the Fire Fighting Training school they would demonstrate this with a deep fat fryer set on the fire field.  An instructor would don a fire suit and, using an 8 oz cup at the end of a 10 foot pole, toss water onto the grease fire.  The results got the attention of the students.

The water, being heavier than oil, sinks to the bottom where it instantly becomes superheated.  The explosive force of the steam blows the burning oil up and out.  On the open field, it became a 30-foot high fireball that resembled a nuclear blast.  Inside the confines of a kitchen, the fire ball hits the ceiling and fills the entire room.

Also, do not throw sugar or flour on a grease fire.  One cup creates the explosive force of two sticks of dynamite.  This is a powerful message --- watch the video and don't forget what you see.