Microwave Kitchen Fire

[pardes]

The smoke detector went off a little while ago. They've all been beeping lately since they are all coming due to change the batteries which I've found is impossible because you can't get them apart without breaking them. Only one was still functional and buying new ones was on my list for this week. If it hadn't rained today, I would have had them today on my shopping run.

Anyway, this alarm sounded real so I ventured into the kitchen to see the room full of smoke and a fire on the gas stove just below the microwave.

I put the fire out, it wasn't too big but I could not turn off the microwave. None of the off buttons would work. I couldn't even turn the fan off! The fan was blowing the light was on but the timer wasn't timing. It just kept running no matter what I did. Thank God I remembered that the plug was inside the cabinets above the microwave and finally managed to unplug it which turned it off. And thank God it wasn't hard-wired into a electrical line that I couldn't get to to disconnect.

I hadn't used the microwave for hours and then just to heat water for coffee. I hadn't used the gas stove for over a day.

I searched on the web for "microwave fire" and found more than one reference to the GE Spacemaster catching on fire even when it wasn't running. I couldn't believe how many posts mentioned that.

Still I can't say for certain that is what it was. It could have been my German Shepherd who I sometimes catch with her paws on the counter who accidentally turned on a burner but these are safety burners and have to be pushed in before being turned so that it releases gas to ignite. I can't tell because when I came into the kitchen, the first thing I did was madly start cranking the burners but I did not notice a burner being on but a small fire was burning just below the microwave. So I can't say but I tell you it scared the you know what out of me.

After reading of the warnings about the same model microwave, I of course won't ever use it again. I'll replace it. But just to be safe and be able to sleep at night and not worry when I'm away from home, the dog will be locked in a bedroom when I'm away.

Oh, and I'll also be buying several brand new smoke detectors with fresh batters and the kind of smoke detector that you can actually take apart and get it back together again without breaking it.

Phew, the adrenalin is still pumping. It will be a while before I can sleep.

You see my previous house on this lot burned down while I was at church about six years ago. It was an old 1950's ranch house and the fire was in the wiring in the attic. I came home to see fire engines and started running toward the house to rescue my dogs but was grabbed by the firemen. The house was a total loss. The only thing I rescued was my car since I was away.

And God bless the backyard neighbor and the firemen. The neighbor kicked in the back door and the firemen kicked in the front door. All my dogs were rescued. They had no hair and spent a week in the vet hospital but they survived.

I an thankful today for so many things. Being able to share this scary story with you is one of them and it's very high on the list.

Check your smoke detectors. Check your microwave and appliance before you leave for the day. Let's all be safe to ride our bikes another day.

[fidlfreek]

Wow. What an awful thing!!! Especially to have that *almost* happen a 2nd time.

[lph]

ahrk! terrifying :eek: So glad you're ok.

[Grog]

Wow! That's awful! I'm glad you're okay though.

A fire is the one thing I would really have a hard time getting over. It must have been though for you back then.

[pardes]

Thanks folks. I appreciate the comments. :)

I've been obsessively reading smoke alarm reviews (http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-PI9000-Battery-Operated-Ionization-Photoelectric/dp/B0007G71U4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1228114967&sr=8-5) and just ordered overnight shipment of 3 from Amazon. Phew. Now maybe I can go to sleep.

Thanks again folks.

[Mr. Bloom]

Wow! Glad you're OK.

Our systems are designed to run the exhaust fan when excessive heat or smoke is sensed (personally, it seems to me that this could fan the flames). But, I'm puzzled - what precisely was burning? Was it something on the stove or a part of the unit itself? Is it possible that the oven was in a self clean cycle? Is there any grease build up that may have ignited either inside the stove top or within the fan filters?

[Tuckervill]

First thing I did was look at my microwave--it's a Frigidaire, thank goodness!

I would not be concerned about anything on the stove causing the fire, since the microwave was acting so strange. There's no reason for it not to turn off unless there is an electrical problem! My microwave has a filter on the bottom, and I'd guess that was what was on fire, having burned away from its holder onto the stove.

I'm glad you were home to stop the fire. Sorry to hear about that happening to you the first time. It's one of my greatest fears, a fire. One of my husband's ex-employees was not so lucky on Friday, we learned. Her house burned in the night and she went back in to save her dog, and she perished. Unfortunately, she lived alone, had no children, no other close relatives, and they were unable to identify her. We knew it was her house from the picture in the paper on Saturday, so my husband has the grim task of looking in his records for emergency contacts and getting that information to the police. He tried yesterday, but no one in the police department would take the information until the right person comes in this morning.

Check your batteries, everyone! Make sure one of your neighbors has a phone number or SOMETHING.

Karen

[pardes]

Thanks Mr. Silver and Karen! Yes, it had to be an electrical problem. Several of the warning reviews from users was that you COULDN'T turn it off without unplugging it. Really scary to see a machine do something like that.

Karen that is wretched about that poor woman who perished. I work at the Medical Examiner's and we see this kind of terrible thing every day but you NEVER get used to it.

Ever since the major house fire, I've been pretty OCD about leaving the house. I must check things a dozen times and even though I KNOW I've checked things, I can't tell you how many times I'd stop a block away and come back and check things again. I even do it on the bike!

I'll be happy to get home tonight and confirm that the girls are safe and sound for another day.

[deeaimond]

Oh dear..., Karen... that is so tragic.

Padre, thank goodness you're safe and sound.

When i first went to the US I was surprised that houses were mostly made of wood. Before I always thought all houses were built of brick and cement like they are here. I can see how much more of a fire-hazard that can be.

[OakLeaf]

wow Pardes, that is really scary. So glad you and the dog are OK... and that you were able to get the fire out and the microwave unplugged without much damage!

[Becky]

Yowza! Glad to hear that you're ok!

I often consider putting in an alarm system for this very reason.....fire monitoring while we're away...

[Tri Girl]

I'm so glad you're OK, Pardes. Very, very scary.

Karen, I'm sorry to hear about the fire that took that poor woman's life.

Fire is indeed one of the things that scares me- whether I'm at home when it starts or not. Scary stuff.

[SouthernBelle]

Oh crap. I have that microwave.

Btw, when they installed it, they told me it wasn't 'code' to hardwire it in.

[Aggie_Ama]

Crap we have the microwave! But I do have an electrician cousin coming for Christmas who likes to help. I might have him take a peek at the wiring to see if any red flags go up. My builder cut any corner they could we are discovering so I wouldn't be surprised. :rolleyes: Next house I am going custom and sitting there every freaking day to watch those workers- lol.

[tulip]

Whoa, Pardes, so glad you are okay. What a story! With my kitchen renovation in full swing, I'm sans smoke detectors at the moment. Thanks for the link to the reviews. I'll get some this week. My new micro is not a spacemaker, and the old one I'm using during the renovations is only plugged in when in use.

What was burning--the walls?

It's also important to have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and easily accessible.

[Biciclista]

our microwave would turn itself on in the middle of the night. The famous "intermittent" problem.
I called a guy out on it 13 months after I bought it. He knew it was intermittent, and was scratching his head on how he was going to investigate. He leaned on the top of the microwave (buttons on front) and it went off all by itself, it started cooking. He was really startled, but convinced.

Even though it was past warranty he gave me a script to buy a new one and took the old one out of the house.

I'm glad you fixed your smoke detectors. all those beeps would drive me crazy.
and i'm also glad you didn't suffer a more serious loss this time.

[wackyjacky1]

Like everyone else here, when I read your post I ran into the kitchen to see what kind of microwave I have (Sharp, thank goodness).

How scary! I'm glad everything turned out pretty much okay, pardes.

My mom had a visit from the fire department a couple of weeks ago. She hadn't opened the chimney flue all the way so when she lit a fire the smoke came pouring out of the fireplace and into the house. It was scary but the damage was just from smoke, not flames. And all the firemen who showed up were REALLY cute, so there's that. :)

[bmccasland]

Pardes - so glad you didn't have a serious fire. :eek:

Everyone - make certain you mark your calendars to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors annually! October was fire prevention month, so that's as good a month as any.

First Alert makes pretty good smoke detectors. I'm one of those that doesn't like them hard wired into your house, unless it's by an alarm company, and all should have battery back up. Which brings us back to replacing the batteries annually.

(resume includes being a firefighter....)

[divingbiker]

I've got an Amana built-in microwave that has started on its own intermittently ever since I got it 14 years ago this week. It only happens when I close the door, not spontaneously. I've never worried about it, but maybe I should.

And Pardes, I'm so glad you didn't have a serious fire this time, but I'm having a hard time getting my head around how you could be living in a house without working smoke detectors after losing everything to a fire 6 years ago!

[Velobambina]

Pardes, what model of the GE Spacemaker did you have? I might start unplugging ours when we aren't using it.

Thank goodness you are OK.

[ilima]

Yikes. So glad you caught that before it did even more serious damage.

I've been meaning to get a fire extinguisher, and I think I'll do that tonight.

[pardes]

And Pardes, I'm so glad you didn't have a serious fire this time, but I'm having a hard time getting my head around how you could be living in a house without working smoke detectors after losing everything to a fire 6 years ago!

I'm not an idiot.

Two of the three were working. One of the two working ones was chirping that it needed a new battery but it was still operational. Two of the three alarms went off one softly and one VERY loudly.

They are all hard-wired and impossible to dismount. I've replaced them with all battery operated ones that are easy to access.

[pardes]

Pardes, what model of the GE Spacemaker did you have? I might start unplugging ours when we aren't using it.

Thank goodness you are OK.

Ummmm I think it's the XL1200 or XL1800. If you have that model you really should consider unplugging it when not in use. Apparently it's not a house wiring problem but the wiring inside the microwave that for no reason turns itself on and can't be turned off without unplugging.

You could also contact GE for their recall notices. With so many problems noted, I'm sure there is some advisory that has been issued.

[spindizzy]

Pardes-

How horribly frightening!!! I'm so glad that you're alright.

The province I reside in requires every home to have working smoke detectors outside sleeping areas. We have two wired-in ones (which are to be replaced every 10 years) one the 2nd floor and the other one is in the basement. We also have a couple of battery operated ones. They are a combination of photoelectric and ionization technology. We change the batteries when we change the clocks.

We also hav CO2 detectors on every floor.

Our first year of marraige we lived in a lovely apartment above a store. Woke up one night to a major fire in the store..so I'm a bit edgy when it comes to fire safety.

[channlluv]

How horrifying all the way around, especially having two fires in such a short span of time. I'm so glad you're safe, and I'm glad you've got the replacement smoke alarms on the way. I'm going to go check mine as soon as I finish typing this.

I've set the alarm off a couple of times, but from cooking smoke, not housefire smoke. I nearly did it last night - London broil in the broiling pan a few minutes too long...the aluminum foil caught flame. Luckily I was working on my computer right here in the kitchen when I notice how smoky it was getting. No alarm, though. Just me. I need to go check those batteries.

And Karen, how very sad for your husband and that woman's family. He might need to call in some kind of counselor for himself and the other people at work.

Roxy

[shootingstar]

Gee, unplugging smokin' microwave to stop it...:eek:

Can you imagine if the microwave really started to burn..with the toxic plastics in the smoke..wouldn't take much for a person to die.

Worked for the Office of the Fire Marshal for one of the provinces for nearly 10 yrs. Library had investigative case reports, articles and statistical summaries..where actually when there's smoke, more people die of smoke inhalation (or being trampled in a crowd) than being burnt alive.. It's been shown statistically for a long time and well known for most fire departments and coroner's offices.

We alot of plastics in our homes, in our fabrics (ie. upholstered furniture) and over and over it's been shown how deadly burning plastics and other materials are to human beings in a confined area.
__________________________________________________________
I had one scare in my place years ago ..awakened by the building's hardwired fire alarm system at 4:00 am. There was smoke seeping into my home. I opened door into hallway..full of smoke. :eek: For first time, I felt truly panicky about being in a burning building. I did run out to my balcony..and contemplated how hard would I smack onto the hard pavement if I jumped 4 stories down to save my life.

So I did what one is advised by fire dept.....take wet bathtowels and try to plug up the doorway air seams where smoke was seeping in. But then it didn't help when seeing through the HVAC system.

Fire dept. came in 25 min. BUT I COULD NOT GO INTO THE SMOKY HALLWAY. So I was truly was trapped until that time.

Found out the apartment just above me sustained over $2,000 of damage.

[crazycanuck]

:eek: Holy Moly Pardes :eek: :(

You're with us though (( Pardes))) YAY!!!!!

We don't own a microwave but will certainly check our fire alarm batteries. I'm not a great cook so they beep often :rolleyes:

[PamNY]

Pardes, I'm so glad you and yours are okay. What a scary experience. It's good you posted it; safety reminders are always helpful.

Pam

[shootingstar]

About microwave use safety and fire safety/including scalding. :( I never knew..but then I use our microwave once a day only --usually for nuking my oatmeal early in morning.

http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1698&itemID=41087&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fact%20sheets/Cooking/Microwave%20ovens

National Fire Protection Assoc. has existed since early 1900's. The organization writes various engineering and technical standards on fire safety design of certain equipment, building features and firefighting equipment. NFPA standards are cited in many U.S. and Canadian fire and building codes....therefore it becomes part of law.

[Mr. Bloom]

It's also important to have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and easily accessible.

+1 +1 +1 They are not expensive. Give them as gifts to loved ones...they're under $20 on Amazon.

We received two as gifts a few years ago...actually a very thoughtful gift since it's important and we often don't think of getting them for ourselves.

[Tuckervill]

One of my husband's ex-employees was not so lucky on Friday, we learned. Her house burned in the night and she went back in to save her dog, and she perished. Unfortunately, she lived alone, had no children, no other close relatives, and they were unable to identify her. We knew it was her house from the picture in the paper on Saturday, so my husband has the grim task of looking in his records for emergency contacts and getting that information to the police. He tried yesterday, but no one in the police department would take the information until the right person comes in this morning.


My husband has been in touch with the fire chief, and the lady's niece. We read in the paper that they were doing DNA testing to determine her identity since she was unidentifiable, and an autopsy to determine her cause of death (standard procedure). They have asked my husband to see if the company's insurance company will release a dentist's name, if any, for identification.

Apparently the niece, who couldn't be bothered to come 80 miles to help her when she broke her hip (I, a stranger, am the one who took her to the ER after she lay on her couch for 3 days), has already been through the house, took her van, and all the papers they could find. And probably any cash or valuables that may have been there.

Her sister lives in CA and hasn't come out, yet. I guess she's waiting until the body is released from the coroner. Pam wanted to be cremated, so there will be no service here, according to the niece. I'm kind of sad about that. Pam was a hard person to like, kinda. She smoked and smelled like it, and was not attractive and had a smoker's voice, and it was loud and obnoxious. But she had an urge to care for others and always cooked for the employees, even though it sometimes wasn't welcomed, and she thought the world of my husband. She was a bit too needy, and relied too much on some of the guys at work for things she should have had friends or family do, or paid someone to do them. Even so, the employees who knew her might beneift from a service.

The dog was burned, too, but it came out of the house and someone took it to a vet. It lived a couple of days, but it took a turn and had to be put down. Doubly sad that Pam died, because the dog she went back in for was already out of the house. Sometimes it crosses my mind that she may not have wanted to live, really, but that's complete speculation, since I only know her from the outside looking in.

A sad story all around. Thanks for indulging me enough to let me share it here.

Karen

[Dogmama]

I'm surprised that the microwave hasn't been recalled yet. I read about it when I replaced my last microwave, about a year ago. The local appliance company said that GE knew about it and had corrected the problem in their newer microwaves. Sometimes it's cheaper for companies to pay off the consumer than to go through the expense of issuing a recall.

I'm glad you're OK Padres. My father died in a fire, so I have an unusually high fear of fire. I don't even allow candles in my house.

+1 on fire extinquishers and check them to make sure they're still charged.

[Dogmama]

Thanks folks. I appreciate the comments. :)

I've been obsessively reading smoke alarm reviews (http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-PI9000-Battery-Operated-Ionization-Photoelectric/dp/B0007G71U4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1228114967&sr=8-5) and just ordered overnight shipment of 3 from Amazon. Phew. Now maybe I can go to sleep.

Thanks again folks.

Padres, did you get those smoke alarms? If yes, do you like them? I have two that are hard wired into the house :( plus one battery operated one that I'm not too keen on. I checked your link & those look very nice. How do they attach to the wall?

[pardes]

Padres, did you get those smoke alarms? If yes, do you like them? I have two that are hard wired into the house :( plus one battery operated one that I'm not too keen on. I checked your link & those look very nice. How do they attach to the wall?

Yes, I have them! They attach to the ceiling (or high on the wall) with two screws. Couldn't be simpler. They are VERY loud.

A funny aside. I was getting ready for a luxurious bubble bath with candles and everything. I put one of the candles down on the small three drawer cabinet I have next to the tub. There I am naked and ready to step into the tub when one of the smoke detectors went off. I frantically ran from detector to detector, room to room, to see which one was alarming. None of them were. Every time I got to one the alarm sound appeared to be coming from another room. I made the circuit again, the dogs are FREAKING out, I'm FREAKING out by then too.

Finally I realized that the smoke detector I had replaced in the hallway was in the cabinet drawer below the burning candle and it was SIRENING for all it was worth. I had forgotten to remove the battery!

It took quite a while submerged in the bubblebath jacuzzi to calm down again.

Can you imagine what the poor dogs were thinking watching me run around naked from detector to detector? After that they both asked for a Xanax but since I don't have any, I gave them two slices of cheese instead.

[Velobambina]

Pardes -- I couldn't find anything on the CSPC or GE website about the XL1800 mode. I even called GE --- nothing.

Is your microwave http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml08/08110.html

We've been unplugging our XL1800 when it's not in use, just to be safe.

Do they call you "the streak?" LOL

[Dogmama]

It took quite a while submerged in the bubblebath jacuzzi to calm down again.

Can you imagine what the poor dogs were thinking watching me run around naked from detector to detector? After that they both asked for a Xanax but since I don't have any, I gave them two slices of cheese instead.


My dog trainer side imagines your dogs trying to figure out how to make the detector go off so they can get cheese.

Thanks for the info!

[pardes]

Pardes -- I couldn't find anything on the CSPC or GE website about the XL1800 mode. I even called GE --- nothing.

This is one site (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/ge_microwaves.html) where I found references to fires while not running.


My dog trainer side imagines your dogs trying to figure out how to make the detector go off so they can get cheese.Thanks for the info!

Wow, a new form of clicker training! Move over Caesar!

[Velobambina]

Thanks for the link!!!