WW's on fire....see what happens when you boil MFs *pic*

Paulie Walnuts

New member
LONG STORY WORTH THE READ



For too long?



Well today I was out washing the Maxima and was angry that my WWs were not drying the car rather just pushing the water around. Then I thought of a post that I read here a few times saying if you towels lost their absorbency that you could boil them for a little bit in water on the stove. So I thought, what the heck I will give it a try.



I go inside grab 3 or 4 WWs, two pakshaks and one Megs I believe. I filled the pot with water and dropped the towels in and kicked the stove up to high. I can hear our new puppy whining upstairs so I run up to get him. One thing leads to another and I am responding to eMails and my puppy is curled up on my neck. I get sleepy....About Im guessing 45 minutes later our lab Molly starts barking. I smell something funny and I think to myself, did I leave a pizza in the oven? Then as if someone opened a door to create a vacuum the 3rd floor fills with smoke. I grab the puppy and run downstairs to find the entire main floor engulfed in smoke. I get both dogs outside then I run up to grab our 6 guinea pigs out of their cage and get them out. I get them in a laundry basket and as I am heading downstairs I inhale deeply the smoke and it knocked me out. I tumble down the stairs and smack my head on the wall. Guinea pigs scatter everywhere. I must have only been out a few seconds because I got up gather the girls up again and went out through the garage.



I catch my breath cover my face and head back into the house to find the WWs on fire in the pot. I move the pot off the burner and the flame goes out. I run around turning all the ceiling fans on and opening the windows. Again, inhaling this aweful smoke. I get outside and call 911 to let them know everything is ok if they got any reports. All of a sudden, I cant find Molly. To try and make this part of the short Molly freaked and took off. We found her two hours later wandering around in the townhome complex behind ours.



Our house freaking smells so bad still. We had 2nd row tickets to see comedian Jim Gaffigan tonight so we just got back and it still smells horrible, but not as bad in here. I hope it goes away in the next 5 weeks because my brother owns the place and he is going to be pissed.



Moral of the story, dont turn your back on anything on the burner much less fall a sleep.



My lungs and roof of my mouth still hurt and my chest is sore.







Now to see what it looked like:



































zufukg.jpg
 
damn! I've done something similar. One night I was boiling some eggs and I fell asleep.



Woke up few hours later to find the water completely evaporated and the eggs exploded all over the kitchen. That was fun cleaning up...



Lesson learned: Don't leave items on the stove unattended!
 
Glad you and the dogs are ok, hope the guinea pigs are ok also. Smart dog that started barking and woke you up. I once fell asleep with a pizza in the oven and my apartment smelled for about 2 weeks after that. Some vinegar in a bowl (or a few) around the house might help to neutralize the smell.
 
No, you don't understand, the WW's got their absorbency back and sucked up all the water in the pot! Kidding, as others have said, good thing the dog woke you up if the fumes were that bad...you might never have woken up--ever, and great calm-under-pressure with getting everybody out. I'm guessing the pot is toast too?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
No, you don't understand, the WW's got their absorbency back and sucked up all the water in the pot! Kidding, as others have said, good thing the dog woke you up if the fumes were that bad...you might never have woken up--ever, and great calm-under-pressure with getting everybody out. I'm guessing the pot is toast too?

Yeah I thank god for that dog. I am on a new medication that makes you very drowsey and being that I am out of work I nap more now. My wife is still freaked out. The pot is fried, the very least of our worries.



Thanks for all the kind words, I am a very lucky man.
 
chml17l said:
WHB-- You don't have any smoke alarms in your home?

Yeah I forgot to mention that as well. We indeed do but non of them went off. All the batteries were changed this year so I dont know why the hell they did not go off. Needless to say I am going out and getting batteries today. It really pissed me off.
 
Dang scary, glad you made it out just fine along with the pets! Might want to ask Grouse how to approach the Interior!
 
Where do I begin?....



Wiiliam.. rescuing the pets could have very well cost you your life.



I hope you went to seek medical attention.. the materials that make up microfiber toweling create some very nasty fire gasses, such as hyrogen chloride, hydrogen sulfide, phosgene, cyanide, carbon monoxide and about a few thousand elements that we firefighters call "nastya**bads**t".



How old are the smoke detectors? They have a ten year lifespan, and even though they may still operate, the sensors lose their effectiveness and may not go off until it is too late.



Since this is fire prevention month, allow me to pontificate on a few things.



Check and maintain carbon monoxide and smoke detectors at leat once a month. If you don't have them, install them!



Have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and garage areas, read the instructions before you need to use them!



Have a home fire escape plan and practice it at least once a month. Know at least two ways out of every room and two ways out of the house.



If there is smoke or fire in the house... leave immediately and take nothing with you.



Call 911 or your local emergency number from a neighbor's home or a cell phone, if you have it with you.



Never store gasoline cans or propane tanks indoors. A 20 pound propane tank in fire conditions contains enoughpower to level a typical home. Propane and gasoline vapors are heavier than air and invisible... if they find an ignition source.. ka-boom.



If you semll natural gas inside your home.. leave and call 911. Do not turn anything on or off. Natural gas has an explosive range of 5 to 15%.. all it takes is a spark to ignite the mixture.




Oaky, I'm off of my soapbox for now..
 
Back
Top