I know this is no laughing matter and could have very easily had a much more serious outcome, if not for the quick response of my safety conscious husband. There is nothing like coming home, getting off the elevator, walking towards your front door only to catch the first faint whiff of something cooking. Was that bacon I detected....who was cooking today? You never really know because as you make your way down the outside walkway, you pass by each condo's kitchen window. Could it be our place...I wondered if chef Roger was busy in front of the stove? Oh he was busy alright...little did I know what urgency had kept him preoccupied the last 1/2 hour and it had nothing to do with any food either of us would be eating. Although I really don't cook anymore, I'm not averse to tasting a few bites of some of what he whips up every now and again.
Apparently, he'd had a brain storm and decided to cook some bacon in the oven. I recall him mentioning it just made too much of a mess frying it in a pan on top of the stove....famous last words!!! Personally, I think the microwave works perfectly fine...no muss, no fuss...and the paper plates can be thrown away!!! Considering we rarely have bacon in the house, I'm not quite sure what exactly prompted him to buy some. If you'll recall, I buy my 'pig' BBQued from the market! Interestingly enough, the bacon cooked just fine, it was what happened after he removed it from the oven, that is the "hot" topic here. Whatever was in the bottom of the oven (we keep some aluminum foil in there to catch any spillovers), quickly produced a fire, actual flames with smoke, which led to his brief encounter with our fire extinguisher.
Roger's Nuclear Power Plant Fire Fighting Training came in handy that afternoon
Of course the smoke immediately set off the fire alarm, which is located right outside the kitchen door in the dining room. Our entire place quickly filled with smoke, Roger could no longer see inside our small kitchen. All of this occurred at around 4:20, which is very close to the time I leave work and begin my 5-10 minute commute back home. It was amazing that he had all the smoke cleared out before I stepped off the elevator...all that remained was the wonderful smokey chemical stench, with a hint of bacon thrown in for good measure. I'm happy to say, that a few days later, our kitchen just held the faint scent of an outdoor BBQ, which was not particularly unpleasant.
Initially, the smell inside the kitchen/dining/living area of our condo was pretty nasty, and on most evenings it would have been simple to just head to the bedroom, close the door and flip on a movie. Unfortunately, I had brought work home with me and it was necessary to spread out my laptop, binder and folders all over the dining room table, which was now covered in a light dusty film of fire fighting residue....lousy timing for sure. I spent the next 3 hours working to complete a project before I was finally too exhausted to continue...our bedroom smelled so much better and the bed felt pretty good too.
If that wasnt bad enough, our pictures on the fridge of our children were covered with a fine film of fire extinguisher dust. I had just spent last Saturday cleaning all the nooks and crannies around the kitchen and found some of the remnants of his last kitchen/dining room fiasco...what I refer to as the relish mustard hurricane that rained down upon our home, where no surface within a 10 yard parameter was safe from fallout...think ceiling fans and ceiling here!!!!! Believe me...this always happens when I am not home and luckily I'm able to avoid the initial disaster area. Although his best cleaning efforts are very much appreciated...I'm thinking if he had his glasses on, he wouldn't have missed so many spots.
If nothing else was learned that afternoon, it's how important a fire extinguisher can be to your safety at home. Having never been involved in a kitchen fire before, and not knowing if the extinguisher was in working order, he sprayed a test shot out the kitchen window to see if it would function properly. Obviously it was sufficient to put out the fire, and there's a faint white mark that needs to be wiped off of the walkway outside our window. And just to let you know, our condo building is well equipped and there are several fire extinguishers up and down each hallway to be utilized if necessary.
Right outside the kitchen window...good to know it's there!
Apparently, our upstairs neighbor came down after he saw smoke billowing up towards his balcony to check and make sure everything was ok. Every condo dweller's nightmare is an uncontrolled fire somewhere in the building where they reside. We all have to hope that each resident is as diligent and as well equipped to handle this type of emergency as Roger was this week. It is comforting to know that our local fire station is about five hundred yards from the parking lot behind our building. Living in such a tiny community keeps all the local governmental offices literally in our own backyard.
You can actually see, from our front door, another extinguisher on the wall, one is hidden a bit further down, and finally one by the elevator...4 on each floor. Until the other day, I'm not sure I ever paid that much attention.
I gave up cooking many years ago when the kids left home....perhaps Roger should consider following in my footsteps...or at least stick to stove top items. This is certainly not his first "mess" in the kitchen...just ask him about the exploding tupperware container of boiling red jello...some foods are meant to be stirred not shaken. When things get this hot, it might just be time to hang up the oven mitts and get the heck outta the kitchen...but not until AFTER he cleans the inside of that oven!!!
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