Almost set the toaster oven on fire!
By courtknee525
@courtknee525 (3742)
United States
August 11, 2012 7:38pm CST
This was the first time I've ever almost set anything on fire in my house while using it. Before work today I was using the toaster oven to toast a bagel. It was a cinnamon sugar bagel and I guess the heat from the toaster oven started to melt the sugar and started to drip on the burner. Next thing I know, I see a couple little flames on the burner underneath my bagel. I was kind of shocked and a little scared and for half a second my mind froze but I quickly reacted and had enough sense to turn off the toaster oven. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before and my heart started racing. Luckily I stayed while the bagel was toasting and I didn't walk off somewhere. I couldn't imagine what would've happened if I did that.
Have you ever set or almost set something on fire in your house?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@bounce58 (17380)
• Canada
30 Aug 12
Yes I have!
When I cook something, I usually don't clean the pots and pans right away. I'd usually wait until everybody's already eaten (and maybe sometimes that I've already relax for a little bit). I remember one time cooking something that had a lot of grease on it. I think it was the fall/winter that when the time I really got around to cleaning the pans, the grease had already hardened. Of course I had a brilliant idea to just open the stove to heat it up (on high!) and let it liquify. But for some reason or another, I went to the bedroom and totally forgot about this. When I finally came back to the kitchen, there was already a big fire on the fan and it was almost reaching the cabinets.
When I cook something, I usually don't clean the pots and pans right away. I'd usually wait until everybody's already eaten (and maybe sometimes that I've already relax for a little bit). I remember one time cooking something that had a lot of grease on it. I think it was the fall/winter that when the time I really got around to cleaning the pans, the grease had already hardened. Of course I had a brilliant idea to just open the stove to heat it up (on high!) and let it liquify. But for some reason or another, I went to the bedroom and totally forgot about this. When I finally came back to the kitchen, there was already a big fire on the fan and it was almost reaching the cabinets.@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
31 Aug 12
Whoa that seems pretty bad! Luckily you caught it before anything major happened
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
31 Aug 12
I think what we are taking away from this discussion is that we should not leave an appliance or stove unattended. We have all had close calls.
@deazil (4730)
• United States
12 Aug 12
Just last week! I have a double electrical outlet where the air conditioner is plugged in. I also have a small fan plugged into the other outlet below. Somehow the the fan plug had loosened and the fan wasn't working. I looked over at the plug and saw that it was hanging out so I went over and pushed it back in and all of a sudden there were a whole bunch of sparks and the whole plug went up in flames. I almost sh*t. I yanked the plug out of the outlet and pulled the ac plug out of the other one. One prong from the fan plug was still in the outlet. The plug had melted that much in 2 seconds. I don't know what caused that to happen but it scared me pretty much. Now I can't use that outlet which means no ac. And it's wicked out here in the NE. That's my fire story!
1 person likes this
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
12 Aug 12
Oh wow, that's pretty scary! If that happened I'd be afraid to even go up to the plugs to pull them out, I wouldn't want to get electrocuted. Good thing you were able to get everything under control. It stinks that now you can't use your ac :( I know that living in South Florida, I would die in the summertime if we couldn't use the ac in our house.
@Jshean20 (14347)
• Canada
12 Aug 12
In the early years of me living on my own I had an incident with the oven, chicken was on too high and the grease was splattering like crazy. I opened the oven to flip the chicken over with tongs and it ended up falling down to the grill. Luckily I made the decision to shut the oven and shut the oven off, it did cross my panicked mind to throw water on it, boy would that have been a mistake!
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
12 Aug 12
Sounds like you were pretty lucky and good thing you didn't put water on it at all. I think it's usually fine if you can just close the oven door and not let oxygen get to the fire. It's definitely a scary moment and i know I panicked for a brief second before I turned off the toaster oven
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
31 Aug 12
I usually do not fry things, but I wanted to fry some tortillas really crisp, so I put oil in my skillet. To make it heat faster I put on the lid. . . then I went to take a really quick shower, the bathroom is right beside the kitchen. I finished, walked out, and remembered the oil. I took the lid off and it was so superheated the vapors caught fire. I have or had a fire extinguisher, and I know how to use one so after trying the home methods, like putting salt on it, which did not work, I used my fire extinguisher. That was such a mess to clean up. I guess a couple of times when I was young mom had the floor furnace catch on fire.
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
31 Aug 12
Yikes, it seems like we've all had some pretty close calls. I've definitely learned to be extra careful while cooking and using anything with heat, even if it's something simple like the toaster oven. You just never know when something could go wrong.
@eagletrek2 (5514)
• Kingston, New York
12 Aug 12
Hi when I live in Florida
I had static electric from a lighting
storm burn up my mobile home
I was lucky the fire department was next store
All my paper work and clothes survive
The home did not I had more camber from heat
And water damage all my big items melted
it was combustion from stuff I had store with
Help from lighting and the heat that started the
Fire
@eagletrek2 (5514)
• Kingston, New York
12 Aug 12
That damage from the heat some how
My.phone change the word.
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
12 Aug 12
Oh my gosh, that sounds terrible :( Luckily your more important stuff made it out ok. I also live in Florida! Last year we had lightning strike one of our palm trees and set it on fire. My dad is a retired firefighter and he was home to put out the fire. But that lightning strike was one of the loudest things I've heard and it was also very, very bright. It made me realize just how dangerous lightning can be.
