Fire in The Horse's kitchen! Flames leaping two feet into the air! I'm serious!

@TheHorse (205263)
Walnut Creek, California
December 8, 2021 12:06pm CST
Sigh. I'm not exaggerating here. I was cooking up my morning bacon, and absentmindedly turned the heat up to high, instead of low/medium. I like my bacon kind of flaccid. When I heard loud sizzling (I was at my desk), I realized what I had done. But when I got to the kitchen, there were flames leaping up from beneath the pan. I paused and thought about what to do. My stove is electric, so water was probably not the best solution. Of course, my fire alarm did not go off. It only goes off at 4 AM when I am sleeping and the batteries are low. I then remembered the baking soda I had in my fridge to "reduce odors." I thought the fire would burn out when I turned off the heat. But the flames reached two feet in the air. I thought about what I would take out of my house (apartment, or "flat") if I managed to burn it down. My guitars and my 1914 Gibson mandolin would come first. I might try to grab my computer as well. The baking soda worked. I spread it all around the base of the pan, and the flames went down. I turned on my fan and am now letting the smoke out of my house. The worst part: my bacon was overcooked. I will have to start from scratch to make my ritual bacon and eggs.
14 people like this
14 responses
snowy
@snowy22315 (169641)
• United States
8 Dec 21
Wow, I had a similar experience here with bacon once. The worst part of it was the fire alarms creating a massive cacophony in here.
3 people like this
snowy
@snowy22315 (169641)
• United States
8 Dec 21
@TheHorse Of course, the flames here probably didn't reach the 2 foot status. That will teach me to cook bacon and hang out online though!
3 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Dec 21
@snowy22315 My bacon is now cooking on low. Abundance of caution, and all that.
3 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Dec 21
How come mine don't work when I need them? Did your house survive?
3 people like this
BarBaraPrz
@BarBaraPrz (45437)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
8 Dec 21
Throwing water on a grease fire only serves to spread it to the cupboards. Then you could have about 20 seconds before you were overcome by the smoke, depending on the composition of them. If the fire is just in the pan, simply putting the lid on it would put it out.
3 people like this
BarBaraPrz
@BarBaraPrz (45437)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
9 Dec 21
@TheHorse Yes, that flat round thing that fits on top of the pan to keep the spatter in and the flies out.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
Lid?
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
@BarBaraPrz I...don't...have...one of those for this pan. But the fire was down below. Isn't there a song about that?
2 people like this
divalounger
@divalounger (5849)
• United States
8 Dec 21
Yikes! I am glad it ended well--my husband did that once--he put some brandy in something on the stove and it went up like a torch--scary!
2 people like this
divalounger
@divalounger (5849)
• United States
11 Dec 21
@TheHorse Nope--but I caught them out of the corner of my eye from the living room--luckily he got it under control quickly--
1 person likes this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
Heh. Did the flames last long?
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
11 Dec 21
@divalounger We used to have dessert crepes at a fancy restaurant my father took us to occasionally. The flames leaping into the air were "part of the show."
1 person likes this
Four Walls
@FourWalls (61951)
• United States
8 Dec 21
Dang, Kitty has to teach you how to cook or something!!!! Grabbing the mandolin is a great idea, too!
3 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Dec 21
I gave her wet food twice yesterday. She is so spoiled.
2 people like this
M.-L.
@MALUSE (69416)
• Germany
8 Dec 21
I pity you. Something like this can never happen to me because I find fried bacon for breakfast disgusting.
3 people like this
DE
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
8 Dec 21
@TheHorse Bacon is good any time but half raw egg isn't.
1 person likes this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Dec 21
It's kind of an American tradition. I fry up a sunny side up egg after. A simple breakfast.
2 people like this
Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
8 Dec 21
Wow! Glad things didn’t get worse. Maybe it’s time for a new smoke alarm. I like my bacon crispy but not blackened lol.
3 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Dec 21
Mine was blackened, alas. The second run was good.
3 people like this
Greg
@xander6464 (40826)
• Wapello, Iowa
8 Dec 21
That would have been perfect for me. I like crispy bacon. If any of your guitars got smoke damaged, you can buff the stains right out with a sand blaster.
1 person likes this
Greg
@xander6464 (40826)
• Wapello, Iowa
9 Dec 21
@TheHorse It works remarkably well. It gets rid of any dirt and dust, too.
1 person likes this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
@xander6464 I thank you so much for this suggestion.
1 person likes this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
I'm sure that would do away with the stains.
1 person likes this
DE
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
8 Dec 21
Was Miss Kitty already outside or were you going to sacrifice her to the Gods of the Flame? I'm glad the fire only ruined your bacon. We've only had trouble with fire once, years ago, when lightning struck the electric wiring and shot out of an electrical outlet in my bedroom. That was scary enough.
1 person likes this
DE
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
10 Dec 21
@TheHorse We only lost the outlet the fire shot out of... The wiring and the plastic cover melted. Luckily, that outlet was on a separate circuit so I just shut that breaker off.
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
That would be scary. We had something like that happen in Montana several years ago. I don't think anything was damaged, though.
2 people like this
Eva James
@wolfgirl569 (94784)
• Marion, Ohio
9 Dec 21
Glad it went out. Salt works well for that kind of fire too.
2 people like this
Eva James
@wolfgirl569 (94784)
• Marion, Ohio
9 Dec 21
@TheHorse I have dampened a towel before too. Just damp enough to keep it from catching fire. Then you can smother with it.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
@wolfgirl569 The heat was on high My mistake. I couldn't get beneath the coil, where the fire originated. I'm glad I had baking soda in my fridge.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
I'm glad I had the baking soda handy. I would have wondered what to do otherwise.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325345)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Dec 21
That is scary stuff. I'm glad you were able to put it out.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
Me too. Oddly, I never was scared or worried.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
@JudyEv Totally blind? Before? Or after?
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325345)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Dec 21
@TheHorse My brother had a fire in his kitchen. The cupboard at the side of the stove was all singed. He managed to put it out but - and this is a pretty big 'but' - he was totally blind.
1 person likes this
Ruby Hawk
@RubyHawk (99425)
• Atlanta, Georgia
9 Dec 21
How badly did the flames damage your walls and cabinets. And your stove, how will you ever get it clean? From now on I’ll be sure to keep a box of soda near my stove.
1 person likes this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
Nothing was damaged. But it sure was smoky in here!
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 Dec 21
@RubyHawk I cleaned up the stove (actually, just that burner) this morning.
1 person likes this
Ruby Hawk
@RubyHawk (99425)
• Atlanta, Georgia
10 Dec 21
@TheHorse Wow, it’s a miracle that you didn’t have at the least smoke damage and a damaged stove.
2 people like this
Hanni Harel
@Hannihar (129379)
• Israel
9 Dec 21
@TheHorse I am sorry about what happened but glad you were on the ball and figured out what to do.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
Yea, I tend to go into problem-solving mode when crises arise.
2 people like this
Hanni Harel
@Hannihar (129379)
• Israel
10 Dec 21
@TheHorse That is good that you want to solve the problem and not freeze up.
LindaOH
@LindaOHio (155562)
• United States
9 Dec 21
Wow! That could have been much worse. I'm glad it worked out OK.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Dec 21
I'm glad I tend to stay calm in the face of weird stuff. Did I tell you about my UFO encounter? Heh.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 Dec 21
@LindaOHio Heh. I'll get around to it.
1 person likes this
LindaOH
@LindaOHio (155562)
• United States
10 Dec 21
@TheHorse No, you haven't shared that yet. :-)
1 person likes this
April
@thislittlepennyearns (58103)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
8 Dec 21
So one time the kids ran in and told me dad was doing somersaults on the trampoline. I said no he wasnt, and ran out to see, well I happened to throw the dish rag on the still on burner. YEAH. it was an adventure.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (205263)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Dec 21
Did your house smell "interesting" for several days?
1 person likes this
April
@thislittlepennyearns (58103)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
8 Dec 21
@TheHorse Probably about a week. The same thing happened when one of the kids put a waffle in the microwave for ten minutes.
1 person likes this