FIRE, FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!

[pcarrell]

That's how I woke up at 4:00am! The kitchen, which is in the next room to my bedroom, had flames shooting up to the ceiling in one corner. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and put it out and then we opened all the doors and windows to clear the smoke. No, nobody was hurt, not even our two parrots (birds normally die real quick from smoke inhalation), we just got the pants scared off of us. The cause was the electric can opener (I just bought that thing three years ago. It was a sunbeam brand.). Something happened to it in the middle of the night and up it went.

Do me a favor and check your smoke alarms. Make sure they have fresh batteries and function properly. Make sure you have a good working fire extinguisher (the A,B, and C kind) and that it is handy and away from any potential sources of fires so that if one does break out, you can get to it quickly. Unplug can openers and toasters and the like when not in use.

And one last thing,.....

Hug and kiss somebody you love today!

[grandeman]

Great post. Thanks for the reminder and I'm glad ya'll are all ok.

[tstage]

Phillip,

Thanks for the reminder. Glad you and your family weren't hurt. I guess we can be thankful for working fire alarms and extinguishers. (They do what they are intended to do.)

Never heard of an electric can opening going up. Glad my "manual" can open doesn't need to be UL tested...

Tom

[pcarrell]

tstage,

Yeah, I think I'm going to go manual for a while too!

[dave9999]

Philip,
That's scary stuff. Glad it wasn't more serious... cause it sure could have been! Great
advice on the smoke detectors. I'm going to check mine now.

A spontaneous combustion can opener??? I think I would give Sunbeam a call.
Good luck and STAY SAFE! Dave

[tstage]

Dave,

OT: You must be happy about your Gators yesterday...

Tom

[pcarrell]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dave9999

I think I would give Sunbeam a call.

I would, except that I don't have any more proof. The can opener is melted down to a chared blob of plastic with a couple of metal gizmo's sticking out. The only way I figured out what it was is because it was the blob next to the half melted toaster. Anyways, I think it only had a 1 year warrenty. Maybe I'll send it to them so they can figure out why it did that and then fix the problem in all the new ones.

[dave9999]

Tom,
Very happy...
I was a little worried near the end. It's about time the refs "cheated" in our favor! [:D]
I would have like for the onsides kick to have not been called back so Florida could
have won it without controversy... but a wins a win. Dave

[tstage]

QUOTE: Originally posted by pcarrell

QUOTE: Originally posted by dave9999

I think I would give Sunbeam a call.

I would, except that I don't have any more proof. The can opener is melted down to a chared blob of plastic with a couple of metal gizmo's sticking out. The only way I figured out what it was is because it was the blob next to the half melted toaster. Anyways, I think it only had a 1 year warrenty. Maybe I'll send it to them so they can figure out why it did that and then fix the problem in all the new ones.

Philip,

I would definitely do that! A pic is one thing. To send the opener to them so that they can actually feel, hold, AND smell it, is an entirely different matter.

Tom

[trainfreek92]

a very good thing you guys are alive and the layout suffered no damage[:D] I think you might go to a manual opener now[:I] Tim

[dave9999]

QUOTE: Originally posted by pcarrell

QUOTE: Originally posted by dave9999

I think I would give Sunbeam a call.

I would, except that I don't have any more proof. The can opener is melted down to a chared blob of plastic with a couple of metal gizmo's sticking out. The only way I figured out what it was is because it was the blob next to the half melted toaster. Anyways, I think it only had a 1 year warrenty. Maybe I'll send it to them so they can figure out why it did that and then fix the problem in all the new ones.

Yeah, maybe you can save someone else from going through the same thing.
Then again, it might have just been the one can opener. Still, I guess it coudn't
hurt to let them know. I got my mom one of those openers that "runs" around
the can... if nothing else, it's really cool to watch! [:D]Good luck, Dave

[railroadyoshi]

Glad you are safe. Strange things really do happen with can openers...

[MisterBeasley]

I'm not normally a run-and-get-a-lawyer person, but it seems you have a valid claim against Sunbeam. The warantee only covers the product itself. They still may be liable for damages long after the warantee has expired. They should at least meet the deductable on your homeowners' insurance for any damage caused. I'd hang on to the can opener - don't send it back to them or it might get "lost."

[pcarrell]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainfreek92

a very good thing you guys are alive and the layout suffered no damage[:D] I think you might go to a manual opener now[:I] Tim

The layout is in the process of being dismantled because we are moving. Fortunatly the government is buying our house so that they can plow it under and build a community center and parking lot, so they don't care about what condition the house is in. You're right though, it would have been most unfortunate to lose all my boxed up stuff. Then I really would have to start ALL over! Thats not the excuse that I was looking for to buy more trains!

[pcarrell]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MisterBeasley

I'm not normally a run-and-get-a-lawyer person, but it seems you have a valid claim against Sunbeam. The warantee only covers the product itself. They still may be liable for damages long after the warantee has expired. They should at least meet the deductable on your homeowners' insurance for any damage caused. I'd hang on to the can opener - don't send it back to them or it might get "lost."

I thought about that, and I'm like you, I don't normally jump to that conclusion. But right now I'm trying to buy a house and the financing is difficult so a law suit might rock the boat a little too much, ya know? Besides, Uncle Sam (the ones buying my current house) don't care so it's not going to affect how much they are giving me for my house. I think I'm just going to keep thanking God and move on down the road.

[Anonymous]

My Can opener and Toaster say Proctor*Silex on them. But still,Thanks for the Warning!
I unpluged mine. Allan.

[Anonymous]

Whilst plugged in nothing is truly safe, as you have found out. I am a little paranoid about things being left that way all the time as I grew up in an environment where every outlet is switched - for just this sort of reason. Be safe, unplug.

John

[cwclark]

I try to make it a habit to unplug all unused appliances...especially toaster ovens ..it's kind of a pain to do this but at least it cuts down on the risk of fire.. I had a train room in the early 80's almost go up in flames...it was a detached garage out in the back ...good thing i was only in the benchwork portion of the layout..i bought one of those cheesy plastic fans..while it was running in the middle of the night (I forgot to turn it off) , the bearings seized up and the fan went into a meltdown because of the heat generated...I got the fire out with a garden hose but the smoke damage really messed up the room...been careful ever since...chuck

[pcarrell]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jdtoronto

Whilst plugged in nothing is truly safe, as you have found out. I am a little paranoid about things being left that way all the time as I grew up in an environment where every outlet is switched - for just this sort of reason. Be safe, unplug.

John

Normally I do unplug, but this one got missed. Sure was an attention getter in the end though!

[Train 284]

Glad everyone is ok!

[Anonymous]

Dang man. Glad yall are all alright.

[pcarrell]

Man, I'm just sitting here at work thinking about it. My wife just called and she's still freaked out too. Ya know, I don't think that I've ever gotten out of bed so quickly, and been so fully awake and alert, in all my life!

Please, EVERYONE, check those smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. Go over the escape routes with your kids. Do all of this TODAY! It has become VERY clear to me within the last few hours how important it really is.

[steffd]

Glad to hear everyone was okay including your parrots and that there was not too much damage. It just Proves how valuable a smoke detector really is, I can’t understand why there are still people out there who don’t have them, especially those with children. Just remember to change the batteries twice a year. When we built our home, in addition to the sophisticated intrusion system, we also included smoke detectors, which if triggered will immediately alert the fire department. As I read this, I am going to unplug my Blender just in case it should want to develop some erratic behavior.[:D]

Stephan

[Anonymous]

What happens if you live (temp) on the third story of an apartment?

[loathar]

I'd be going after Sunbeam for the deductable. Show it to your fire marshal. They're pretty good at figureing those things out. Do you have any photos you took in the kitchen that might have the opener in the back ground for evidence.(I got a stolen bike back that way once.)

[talon104]

hey ,pcarrell
I am really glad that you and your family are ok. Man that must have been a real freak moment. Hope you and yours get back to feeling normal soon. thanks for the reminder and post
Chris

[selector]

pcarrell, that is one scary story! So glad that you were able to tell us about it. Smoke from plastics is NOT good!!!

One thing that may crop up in the next few days is what is called a Critical Incident Stress Response. You may suddenly feel very anxious for no apparent reason. This is normal, but not if it persists for more than a very few days. A source of prevention is to talk it out, with us if you'd like, and especially with your frau. She will need to get the anxiety off her chest, too. So, keep talking about it, do a lot of recalling of little details, and play it out so that your mind gets tired of dealing with it. Process it that way, and you will probably be just fine.

I offer this as a palliative in case it happens. I am not predicting that it will, just a courtesy here.

Respectfully, and happy to hear that you are okay,

-Crandell

[slotracer]

2 things to really watch out for, cause more fires than mst realize.....

Electric cloths driers......an alarmingly high rate of overheated coil elements cause more fires than one might think. Don't set teh cloths to dry when about to leave teh house or go to bed. I responded on a fully involved house fire end last May casuesd by a faulty cloths drier. I found out they cause more fires than one might have thought.

Appliances with thermal auto shut off features, particularly cofee makers......the thermo unit to cause shut off in coffee makers cost less than a cent to produce. Overheated drip coffee makers left on all day are a source of more fires than the average person might think.

[pcarrell]

QUOTE: Originally posted by selector

pcarrell, that is one scary story! So glad that you were able to tell us about it. Smoke from plastics is NOT good!!!

One thing that may crop up in the next few days is what is called a Critical Incident Stress Response. You may suddenly feel very anxious for no apparent reason. This is normal, but not if it persists for more than a very few days. A source of prevention is to talk it out, with us if you'd like, and especially with your frau. She will need to get the anxiety off her chest, too. So, keep talking about it, do a lot of recalling of little details, and play it out so that your mind gets tired of dealing with it. Process it that way, and you will probably be just fine.

I offer this as a palliative in case it happens. I am not predicting that it will, just a courtesy here.

Respectfully, and happy to hear that you are okay,

-Crandell

Thanks, thats good advice. I'll keep it in mind.

[Anonymous]

DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am glad to hear this story has a happy ending. If you lived anywhere close buy I would definatly arrange for your entire family to have a round of their favorite beverage. Even if it isn't in the dome car (See my sig.)

I am kind of a paranoid spassamatic. So I am already up on what you have prescribed. But I will definatly give my parents big hugs.

Again. I am glad everything is OK. And I am glad you and your family is still with us.

James