Another Tuesday, another disaster
The vet did a clay paw print of Data that needed to be baked. Our oven is broken, so I decided to bake it in the toaster oven this morning.
I read the instructions, turned the toaster over on, put the clay in there, set a timer for twenty minutes, and went in to the office.
Then noticed it smelled really smoky.
Then went in the kitchen and the inside of the toaster oven was on fire.
I didn’t remember what to do – throw baking soda on it? I unplugged it, ran up the stairs to where Steven was taking a shower, and asked him. Cause you know, the fire’s contained, that seems smart, to just leave it…
He told me to use the fire extinguisher. But when I grabbed the tiny one under the sink and the pin was already gone, I was confused. Duh, Kim. That means it’s ready to use. So much face palm.
Steven came downstairs in his towel, with suds in his hair, and got the big extinguisher out from the garage, and put the fire out. He also unplugged the toaster oven, because I’m so smart that I had unplugged the thing next to it.
Our entire house was filled with smoke. All the smoke detectors (finally?) went off.
I was a mess. So much for being calm in a crisis.
Good things:
- No one got hurt
- I didn’t burn the house down
- Steven was home, and could act as the responsible adult
- We have fire extinguishers
- It was nice outside and only a few bugs came in with all the doors/windows open
- Luckily we had that pawprint set from Rachel, because this one is toast
Would you be surprised to learn that I was reading the temperature for Celsius by accident? The reason the fire started is because it was set at 500°F, not 260°F like I thought. Again, so much face palm.
The cats were corralled in the bedroom for a long time while we had all the doors and windows open to air out the house. I let them out on the balcony so they could get fresh air. We all need it. I had soot in my noise and still have a headache from the incident.
Themocracy
Oops!Don’t stress about it too much… you’re dealing with a lot right now. At least you got a very cute “cats on the balcony” picture out of it. And thank goodness that you already had the framed paw print.
Thanks for the kind words. I did get a lot of cute pics of them out there, and now Starbuck is less afraid to go out.
I am so glad I already had one. I’d really be upset, otherwise!
I hate toaster oven fires!! And I’m so sorry the print was lost. But…it’s “toast”? Haha 😂
Glad it made you laugh!!! 😉
Aw, don’t be too hard on yourself. Given what you were doing, I’m sure you weren’t “all there.” I am very glad you have a backup tile!!
Here’s a funny story for you–when I was in college, my boyfriend wanted to make us a very fancy roasted chicken with olive oil. Unfortunately, too much olive oil plus high oven temperature spelled fire!! I was suitably impressed at how quickly he sprang into action–grabbing the fire extinguisher (I had NO CLUE where it was stored), swooping the oven door down instantly, and putting the fire out. Of course, dinner was ruined but it made a great story. 🙂
Any chance Stephen is an Eagle Scout??
Thanks. I am really not all there, and this sure did point it out.
Ha! I am glad he was prepared. And hope you at a yummy dinner out and made the fancy chicken another time?
Steven wasn’t, but he is level-headed and logical!
Well that was scary! It is interesting to see how you actually react in an emergency situation, and hey – now you know alllll about fire extinguishers…which means that you’ll never need to use one again (that’s how it works, I’m convinced).
Hope you are feeling better – don’t be too hard on yourself, we’ve all done mindless things.
Yeah, now I do know! I haven’t had training about one of those in a LOOOOONG time. Too long. And yep, it won’t happen again!
Thanks, I appreciate that. I think I am going to feel stupid about it until I am done cleaning up the huge mess it left (have to empty several cabinets and rewash a lot of things)!
It was all Steven’s fault. He was the one foolish enough to take a shower during such a dangerous task.
Right?! What was he thinking?!
Thanks for making me laugh 🙂 I was thinking “Steven will be so glad I baked this.” The truth is, I rarely use the toaster oven (obviously).
Oh no!! What a bummer 🙁 And a scary bummer at that! I’m surprised your toaster oven even has Celsius as an option – I could see how that could get extremely confusing (not to mention dangerous!). I’m glad you guys were able to keep it from becoming a much worse situation, but it is still disappointing and upsetting that it happened at all 🙁
That is kind of odd, isn’t it? I was looking at it thinking, “Why doesn’t this even go up to the required 275?” Sigh. I will never make that mistake again.
I am glad too. Gawd. But what a mess today has been.
Oh no! 🙁 Ugh, I’m sorry that happened! I’m glad everyone is okay, and glad there was no serious damage to your house! Did the toaster oven survive?
When it’s me in similar situations, I’m really calm in a crisis – or several (just like you have been) – until I’m not, and then I do stuff like this. Like everyone else has said, definitely don’t be too hard on yourself! You’ve had a lot going on lately and that sounds like a really easy mistake to make.
I think the toaster oven will be going in the trash. 🙁 We need to replace that, asap! All we have now is the stovetop! (and the fire place, ha)
Yeah, I guess we reach our point, right?! Thanks for the kind words. It was super easy to make that mistake and I definitely won’t again!
Oh, wow! Glad everything turned out okay in the end, but I am sure it was scary while it was happening! And I’ll chime in with everyone else above me and say, please don’t beat yourself up too much about it – you’ve indeed had a lot on your plate recently.
Hugs!
It was! I am so glad it was contained. Gawd, I could have destroyed our house with that.
Thanks. I am trying not to!
Oh my gosh! Glad you guys and the kitties and your house is ok! How scary! I hope the smell goes away soon.
Me too! It could have been so much worse!
I hope so too. It was still there this am. Sigh. Guess I need new cabinets? Time to redo the kitchen?! Ha!
Aww! You poor thing! I did some really silly things right after I lost Dutch (once, I had walked halfway into my office building when I realized I left my keys in the ignition, the car running, and my driver’s door open, sigh) It’s hard to focus! Don’t beat yourself up – everything turned out okay and the kitties got some playtime outside! You are doing the best you can and that’s all that matters!
Oh my gosh! Thanks for sharing that cause it made me feel so much better! I feel like my head is in the clouds, but heavy clouds, you know?
Thanks! And they did enjoy outside time. Starbuck was afraid to go on the balcony before, but now she isn’t!
Oh no, I’m glad you had the other paw print set! And it looks like the kitties enjoyed their outside time so that’s a silver lining 🙂
ME TOO. I think if I would have lost that one and not had the other I would have felt really badly about it.
Yes! And now Starbuck is no longer afraid to be on the balcony 🙂
Oh no! I had no idea that this is what caused the fire (I think I assumed it was toast or something.). I’m so relieved you have a “back-up” Data paw print!
Remember the time that we left the plastic tupperware lid in the oven when making pizza? Oooooops.
Me too! I would have felt SO HORRIBLE if I ruined it.
OMG. Kind of! Oopsie indeed! Ha!