Thank You Smoke Detector! Close Call Last Night

fmdog44

fmdog44

Well-known Member
Location
Houston, Texas
After frying up some goodies in olive oil for supper one of my large skillets needed soaking in order to clean so I put about a half cup of water in it and turned on the burner at low thinking I'll let it heat up for a few minutes then clean it. Well, I dozed off on the couch and I was awoken by the smoke detector blaring. I thought at first it is another Amber Alert on my phone but my phone was quiet. Next, I ran to the balcony after smelling smoke thinking my neighbors place was on fire. Then I noticed my living room and kitchen were filled with smoke. I turned the stove off and opened all windows and turned on three fans and the stove exhaust fan. I could feel the smoke in my lungs thinking the smoke detector probably saved my life. So I'll throw in a reminder for everyone to check you batteries if your detectors are not hard wired or you have lithium batteries good for ten years. P.S. I was able to recondition the eggshell white skillet almost back to new.
 

RadishRose said:
OMG @fmdog44 ! How awful.

I'm so glad you're ok and you're right about those alarms. I confess, mine don't work. I understand the fire dept can help seniors check/fix/install and I keep saying I'll call them, but I always forget.
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Please do call them, RR!

@fmdog44 - so glad you didn't have a fire, and you are okay. I had a fire after a scenario just like yours, when I was in my 20's. Burned out half the kitchen in my apartment.
 

I had a dish overflow and drip in the oven. I cleaned up what I could off the bottom and then set the oven to the "automatic clean" setting. Next thing I know, the oven is on fire (the stuff left on the bottom caught on fire) and smoke is pouring out of the oven. I shut off the clean cycle but unfortunately, I CAN'T open the oven door because it's locked until the temperature gets lower. I can't unplug the stove to disable the lock because I can't get the darned HOT thing wiggled out from between the counters.

The fire alarms throughout the house are screaming blood murder and I couldn't get to the one in the living room because it's way up on the wall beyond the reach of the only ladder I have.

The only thing I could do was to open doors and windows and put out some fans. Luckily it wasn't THAT much smoke but even a little smoke goes a long way. I finally got the smoke alarm to stop by repeatedly smacking it with a rake handle.

Moral of this story: don't set oven to automatic clean cycle if there is so much as a crumb on the oven bottom.
 
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After seeing my mom forget about eggs boiling many years ago & the eggs exploded, leaving egg stuck to the ceiling & walls, I turn off the burners even when I walk out of the kitchen to use the bathroom. My memory ain't what it used to be, either.
And, even though I have trouble sleeping, I won't risk dozing off with the oven on.
 
Lucky you, you must have been in a deep sleep
if the room was full of smoke when you woke.

Mike.
 
jujube said:
I had a dish overflow and drip in the oven. I cleaned up what I could off the bottom and then set the oven to the "automatic clean" setting. Next thing I know, the oven is on fire (the stuff left on the bottom caught on fire) and smoke is pouring out of the oven. I shut off the clean cycle but unfortunately, I CAN'T open the oven door because it's locked until the temperature gets lower. I can't unplug the stove to disable the lock because I can't get the darned HOT thing wiggled out from between the counters.

The fire alarms throughout the house are screaming blood murder and I couldn't get to the one in the living room because it's way up on the wall beyond the reach of the only ladder I have.

The only thing I could do was to open doors and windows and put out some fans. Luckily it wasn't THAT much smoke but even a little smoke goes a long way. I finally got the smoke alarm to stop by repeatedly smacking it with a rake handle.

Moral of this story: don't set oven to automatic clean cycle if there is so much as a crumb on the oven bottom.
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Replace the smoke detector you broke.
 
RadishRose said:
OMG @fmdog44 ! How awful.

I'm so glad you're ok and you're right about those alarms. I confess, mine don't work. I understand the fire dept can help seniors check/fix/install and I keep saying I'll call them, but I always forget.
Click to expand...
RR I am confused by your post. What kind of detectors do you have?
 
fmdog44 said:
After frying up some goodies in olive oil for supper one of my large skillets needed soaking in order to clean so I put about a half cup of water in it and turned on the burner at low thinking I'll let it heat up for a few minutes then clean it. Well, I dozed off on the couch and I was awoken by the smoke detector blaring. I thought at first it is another Amber Alert on my phone but my phone was quiet. Next, I ran to the balcony after smelling smoke thinking my neighbors place was on fire. Then I noticed my living room and kitchen were filled with smoke. I turned the stove off and opened all windows and turned on three fans and the stove exhaust fan. I could feel the smoke in my lungs thinking the smoke detector probably saved my life. So I'll throw in a reminder for everyone to check you batteries if your detectors are not hard wired or you have lithium batteries good for ten years. P.S. I was able to recondition the eggshell white skillet almost back to new.
Click to expand...
Many, many years ago, I had a pot simmering on the stove with potpourri inside, and thinking I'd go outside to snoop around my gardens, out I went, and one thing led to another, I lost track of time (and the pot on the stove) pulling weeds and poking around, and when I opened the door to go back in a few hours later, the house was filled with smoke, and I thought, what in the world is going on. The pot had boiled dry and the potpourri had burned to a crisp.

That was the end of leaving anything on, or in the oven when out of the house, and I live by the same when doing laundry... never leave the house with the washing machine or dryer going.
 
jujube said:
I had a dish overflow and drip in the oven. I cleaned up what I could off the bottom and then set the oven to the "automatic clean" setting. Next thing I know, the oven is on fire (the stuff left on the bottom caught on fire) and smoke is pouring out of the oven. I shut off the clean cycle but unfortunately, I CAN'T open the oven door because it's locked until the temperature gets lower. I can't unplug the stove to disable the lock because I can't get the darned HOT thing wiggled out from between the counters.

The fire alarms throughout the house are screaming blood murder and I couldn't get to the one in the living room because it's way up on the wall beyond the reach of the only ladder I have.

The only thing I could do was to open doors and windows and put out some fans. Luckily it wasn't THAT much smoke but even a little smoke goes a long way. I finally got the smoke alarm to stop by repeatedly smacking it with a rake handle.

Moral of this story: don't set oven to automatic clean cycle if there is so much as a crumb on the oven bottom.
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Refuse to use the self-clean feature on my oven for this reason. Scares me to death thinking what can happen.
 
@fmdog44 that is very scary and I am so glad your smoke detector came on. I change my smoke detectors batteries every time the it is time to move the clocks forward or backwards. Even though nowadays most every clock does it on its own I still make sure I change the smoke detectors batteries on those days.
 
fmdog44 said:
After frying up some goodies in olive oil for supper one of my large skillets needed soaking in order to clean so I put about a half cup of water in it and turned on the burner at low thinking I'll let it heat up for a few minutes then clean it. Well, I dozed off on the couch and I was awoken by the smoke detector blaring. I thought at first it is another Amber Alert on my phone but my phone was quiet. Next, I ran to the balcony after smelling smoke thinking my neighbors place was on fire. Then I noticed my living room and kitchen were filled with smoke. I turned the stove off and opened all windows and turned on three fans and the stove exhaust fan. I could feel the smoke in my lungs thinking the smoke detector probably saved my life. So I'll throw in a reminder for everyone to check you batteries if your detectors are not hard wired or you have lithium batteries good for ten years. P.S. I was able to recondition the eggshell white skillet almost back to new.
Click to expand...
Yes, lucky you, thank goodness.
 
Leaving something unattended on the stove is one of the leading causes of House Fires. Having a working smoke detector in fairly close proximity to the kitchen is a Really Good Idea.
 
That sounds like a close call, FrmDg!

Glad it woke you,
and thanks for sharing the good reminder of how important those things are, while we usually ignore them.
 
jujube said:
I had a dish overflow and drip in the oven. I cleaned up what I could off the bottom and then set the oven to the "automatic clean" setting. Next thing I know, the oven is on fire (the stuff left on the bottom caught on fire) and smoke is pouring out of the oven. I shut off the clean cycle but unfortunately, I CAN'T open the oven door because it's locked until the temperature gets lower. I can't unplug the stove to disable the lock because I can't get the darned HOT thing wiggled out from between the counters.

The fire alarms throughout the house are screaming blood murder and I couldn't get to the one in the living room because it's way up on the wall beyond the reach of the only ladder I have.

The only thing I could do was to open doors and windows and put out some fans. Luckily it wasn't THAT much smoke but even a little smoke goes a long way. I finally got the smoke alarm to stop by repeatedly smacking it with a rake handle.

Moral of this story: don't set oven to automatic clean cycle if there is so much as a crumb on the oven bottom.
Click to expand...
It's my experience and opinion that the self clean feature is a bad idea. My repair man told me not to use it. The temperature goes to 750 F. This high temp can blow the thermal fuse and lock the door and requires a service call. It's better to seek alternate cleaning. You are lucky you couldn't open the door or the fire could have been worse. The instructions on my toaster oven is to leave the door closed if a fire starts and pull the plug.
 

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