Quenching oil on fire, should I have stuck with water?

Was doing a batch of chisels in my shop in Spokane last Thursday and the quench tank went up. I use canola oil, heated it too hot, and when I dropped the second chisel in, flames rolled over the rim. My instinct was to grab the lid and smother it, but the smoke was already choking me out, so I backed off and let it burn itself down for a bit before covering it. Now I'm second guessing whether I should have had water nearby or just kept the oil cooler from the start. The chisels are trash, but the shop's fine, and I'm wondering if anyone else has had this happen and what they actually did in the moment. Did you fight it with a lid or just let it go and deal with the mess?

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