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Into the Fire
by chris

Tonight my oven caught on fire. It was stupid really, the way that it happened. I was making the kids hamburgers in the oven because we were out of propane for our outdoor grill. And for some unknown reason I put the burgers on a flat cookie sheet. As the hamburgers cooked the grease ran off the pan into the heating element and started a fire.

Black smoke billowed out of the oven. I turned the oven off, but other than that was unsure what to do. I didn't want to open the door and feed the fire with the oxygen (see all those tv shows have paid off) We stood there and looked at it. Ultimately we used the fire extinguisher. And by "we" I mean my 11 yr old son who ran and grabbed the fire extinguisher and put the fire out, while yelling, "Take my picture!" Ah yes, the son of a blogger.

Most fires in a home start in the kitchen. Seems logical I suppose when you think about it. All that fire and cooking and flammable things in that one room.

According to the National Fire Protection Agency :

Cooking is the leading cause of home structure fires and home fire injuries AND,

Kitchens are the leading area of origin for home structure fires (34%) and civilian home fire injuries (33%).

So what can you do, aside from not cook any more, which would actually be my first choice line of defense. Unfortunately I have this family that wants to eat like every day, multiple times a day in fact. The Red Cross has steps on their website to help you make your home safer.

Erin writes:

I ran into the kitchen to see flames completely engulfing the cooking sheet and licking the microwave above the oven. I quickly assessed the situation, while finishing the bite in my mouth. I grabbed another pot holder and managed to grab the cookie sheet and dump it in the sink. My two new Pampered Chef silicone pot holders/ trivets were on fire on top of two burners on HI. Apparently, as I took the pizza out of the oven, I had bumped into the knobs on the oven and turned two burners on HI. Next, I did the only thing I could think of. I screamed.

And yes, screaming is what I did too. Screaming swear words that is.

Like a true man, he took my elegant, white, waffle-weave dish towel from Crate & Barrel, and starts wacking away at the fire. We then had five pieces of burning silicone pot holders on the linoleum flour. He proceeded to wack at and stomp on the pieces, until nothing was left but ash. When our eyes reconnected, I could see what he so desperately wanted to say out loud: “You have got to be kidding.”

Mount Vesuvius had evidently erupted in our kitchen. There was a fine layer of ash on every appliance, in every drawer, in every crack.

In the case of my kitchen we had ash everywhere and the stuff from the fire extinguisher that coated every surface with white slime. I still haven't finished cleaning it up. I told my husband I was too traumatized. But really I am just lazy.

A video on youtube shows you how to properly deal with a kitchen fire. Watch it, preferably with your children. So that if your house catches on fire your child can put it out while you take photos.

When she isn't blogging at notes from the trenches, Chris is trying to save her historic home from a century of neglect and bad taste. And trying not to burn it down.

Submitted by chris (view blog) on Tue, 08/14/2007 - 6:50pm
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Comments

 

Take my picture

Your children are so well trained. I like that in a blogger.

I have tried to explain the whole hamburger/oven/grease thing to my kids and point at the broiler pan but I am not 100% sure the information has sunk in. I will remind them again, and share your post with them. Though they might see it as good blog fodder and try to start a fire just for the photo op. They're like that.

~Denise
Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

Submitted by Denise on Wed, 08/15/2007 - 03:05
 

I always use the broiler pan

except this time. Oooops.

But it did underscore the importance of having a fire extinguisher. Now to buy a new one.

Submitted by chris on Wed, 08/15/2007 - 04:27
 

Kitchen Fires

Kitchen firest can also be started by appliances that are left plugged in. One day (years ago, but the memory is vivid) my sister was at my mom's house giving Mom a perm when her neighbor called and said "Your house is on fire." It was started by a faulty toaster oven plug. (And yes, I do still keep all my many kitchen appliances plugged in, so I guess I didn't learn from the experience.)

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Submitted by Kalyn Denny on Wed, 08/15/2007 - 05:40
 

Been there, Did that...

I set my stove on fire making buffalo wings using the same thing - a cookie sheet. Fire extinguishers are so important in the kitchen, thank you for reminding us of that.

Shash

Submitted by Shash on Wed, 08/15/2007 - 09:03
 

oh my goodness

This is probably the wrong response, but goodness that's funny.

I once left a kettle boiling while I went to check my e-mail, and was reminded of it when the smoke alarm started wailing. I don't remember precisely what I did, but I do recall using a pair of LL Bean fleece gloves to put out the fire. Which seemed totally logical at the time, even though we DID have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Right next to the stove, in fact.

Friday Style | Friday Playdate

Submitted by Susan Wagner on Wed, 08/15/2007 - 10:03
 

I only burned my hand

Our dishwasher stopped working and I canNOT have that-- it was making all the swisha swisha noises without any water running at all. So I peeked in to have a look-see (like I would know what to look for). Yep. Soap powder all over dry dishes. I see a fork hanging out on the bottom, and decide to retrieve that and then begin my Nancy Drew exploration of the inside (remember The Case of the Soap-Dusted Dishes? Me neither). And in picking up the fork, my hand passed over that dark gray thing at the bottom, which I now know is called THE HEATING ELEMENT. It's what heats the water. And since there was no water nearby, it instead heated the palm of my hand.
So. We have learned: use the broiler pan, keep a fire extinguisher handy, unplug the toaster, and don't touch the hot thing at the bottom of the dishwasher.

Submitted by stegh on Tue, 08/21/2007 - 12:21
 

My *dishwasher* caught on fire

So this was a long time ago..the dishwasher was running and I was in the living room. Smoke suddenly filled the house and it seemed to be coming from the kitchen. That's odd, I thought as I slowly made my way to the offending dishwasher. I wasn't quite sure what to do so I hit stop and then started collecting my passport and jewelry. Then I called 911 just in case.
My..dishwasher appears to be on fire, but it's not so bad and I think-"
911: "GET OUT."
Well, are you sure, I mean it could just be-"
911: "GET OUT RIGHT NOW."
Ok, I'll be outside.

Five fire trucks showed up and I was humiliated becuase just then my roommate (older and reportedly wiser than me) pulled up shaking his head. His friend in tow was laughing his head off.
The fire chief appeared with a smoldering wooden spoon. Holding it up for all of the firemen to see, he proclaimed that he has found The Source of the smoke and potential fire. "Miss, don't put these in the dishwasher. It fell onto the heating device."
My roommate kept the wooden spoon for a year then gave it to me as a gag gift.

This all has reminded me to go out and get a fire extinguisher.

Cheers,

D.

Submitted by dms on Thu, 09/06/2007 - 11:25
 

Wooden spoon

Heh. I've seen those get burnt in the dishwasher before but I go right on putting them in there. Never noticed any smoke but then I probably wouldn't notice. Heh.

~Denise
Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

Submitted by Denise on Thu, 09/06/2007 - 12:13