Exciting day Saturday. There was a fire in my house.

I was in the room when it started, and as soon as I realized what was happening, I ran for the closest fire extinguisher. The smoke alarms sounded as I was getting the can (a 10-pound dry chemical commercial unit), and I resolved myself that if I was still seeing flames after hitting it with the can, I was leaving the house and letting the fire department and insurance company deal with it.

Thankfully, when I opened up with the dry chemicals, the flames were immediately knocked down. I did a quick inspection, and it was very clear that the fire had not spread. I turned around, and much to my delight my wife was standing behind me with the 20-pound can she had retrieved from the boiler room, ready to back me up. I really love that woman! The kids were waiting excitedly by the front door, ready to go.

The central station alarm company called, and I told them that we had indeed had a fire, but it was out, we were safe, and there was no need for the fire department. I grabbed an N-95 mask, opened the windows, and got to work cleaning up the copious amount of greenish powder that was all over the kitchen.

All in all, I think I handled the situation pretty well. Everyone knew what they needed to do, and did it. I did have a talk with my older son and told him that he was old enough now that if the fire alarms ever went off again, he should take his brother outside and meet me in the back yard, rather than waiting by the door.

While this was a good drill for a major fire, there's one problem: I set the fire through my own stupidity. I can clearly remember thinking that despite the precautions I was taking, if things got out of hand it could cause a bad fire really quickly (I was fiddling with a new-to-me white gas stove which I had placed in a sink. Said white gas was what was feeding this fire. Yikes!).

So, what do you think? Do I pat myself on the back for handling an emergency relatively well? Or do I smack myself across the face for nearly burning down my house through sheer stupidity? (I'm particularly interested in what Blast has to say on the matter. . .)

Stay safe everyone, and happy spring holidays to those who celebrate them!

Do both, but smack yourself particularly hard if your wife hasn't already done that.
Only other comment, always have the FD come check it out. Let them know that you knocked it down with the extinguisher but have them come. We carry wonderfull devices call TICs (thermal imaging cameras) that let us tell without having to open up a wall (usually) if there has been any extention that you can't see.
Good job otherwise.

I agree, both of the above. You are definitely not the first. Great reaction by the family members, and you were right to plan to bail out if the initial attack failer.

Agree to have have the FD come anyway - fires can be incredibly sneaky.

White gas stove running in the sink???

Was it necessary to try it in the house?

I think you get a break-even for the event. FX was good to have. Playing with fire in the sink- not so good.

I had a Coleman Peak1 "erupt" on me but it was outside at the edge of the concrete patio furthest from the house. FX doused it quickly. Only damage was that the plastic fuel knob on the stove was kind of blistered.

Yep, really hard kick in the backside so you learn and remember. No liquid fuels in the house under any circumstances!

However, you had adequate backup to control the situation. That counts for something. Errors in judgement occur in all of us, which is why layers of safety training and preparedness are needed.

BTW, flowers for your wife, quickly. You've got a keeper there. And you've flared off points in a serious way.

In all, I think this is a net positive. Sometimes close brushes with disaster make us pay attention. Your wife must know you really well to be there backing you up with a fire extinguisher. LOL

BTW, Since you are married, you will get 'credit' for the fiasco for life.

We have an outdoor BBQ that works much better for this than an indoor sink.

BTW, it takes a thousand attaboy's to make up for one "ah s**t" -- for those keeping score.

You lit a white gas stove indoors? Good God, man...! I hope you don't have any other "product tests" in store.

I had a training instructor in Air Force Basic that always said the same thing!

the stove collectors in the UK call Coleman fuel "the devils fuel" because it explodes into flame so easily.kerosene is their fuel of choice.as to your problem,at least you stuck with it and did not run off screaming FIRE!!

Phew! Glad everyone's ok. Good thing your wife's not on this forum or that smack wouldn't be long in coming your way. I second the flowers idea.

For all the newbies in the forum: no using camp stoves or bbq's inside (tent, house or otherwise) is a good safety rule to LIVE by.

Maybe box of chocolates too, Jesselp?

Flowers AND chocolate? That is doing some serious relationship maintenance......

I'm not exactly a new by around here, but apparently that rule needs repeating!

Actually, I was very aware of ventilation to protect against CO buildup, but I never thought the damn stove would turn into a fireball on me!

Poor planning and event management, even there the sink is better than many other spots, but good response. The back yard, preferably on a poured concrete slab or masonry patio, a good bit away from the house, with a large fire extinguisher standing by and hose charged would be a better setting.

That said, and out of the way, I have to admit I've run my white gas stoves in the house. The difference being I got away with it.

Dry chemical extinguishers, yuk .... could you describe the cleanup in detail? Was it just one short blast of chemical or did you lay it on thick? Last few cleanups after dry chemical units discharged I was involved in had the powder spread over a huge area. Virtually every horizontal surface, even 50' away, was thick with it.

what stove was it again?

Hmmm, I think my wife answered that question best when she said, "Good grief! We never have problems like this when you are at work!" after I accidentally torched our microwave.

-Blast

Agree, see this thread for another lucky escape from a camping stove accident.
lucky escape

Camping stoves are for outside. For may reasons.

That's the reason I stopped building Pepsi can stoves. I was building them on my range top instead of the sink. The range has a hood and fan over it that vents to the outside. One of my stoves had a oopsie and the top half shot skyward and ricocheted off the hood.

If you're going to continue to play with fire, get a nice big driveway oil drip pan and do your experiments outside on that.

On a tangent note, Dry powder fire extinguishers leak pressure after they have been used. Make sure you replace the one you used before you need it again.

Your +1 cancels out your -1, so you still get a zero. Not bad, but not great.

Flowers and chocolate, both, definitely. After all, she was right behind you with a fire extinguisher (I guess she knows you quite well) and SHE didn't start a fire!

Regarding stoves:
1) You can unpack them in the house;
2) You can inspect them in the house;
3) You can build them in the house;
4) You can photograph them cold in the house; but...
5) LIGHT THEM OUTDOORS!

(Sue mumbles to self, "At least he didn't try to put out the fire with that can of hairspray...")

As I was one told in the Army:

". . . It take a thousand at-a-boy's to make up for just one OH S--T. . . "

4.5 FUEL THEM OUTDOORS

being a enthusiast i buy old and used stoves from Ebay and yard sales.as i plan on using these on camp outs and tea breaks while hiking they all get a good once over on my work bench.in this photo it's a mess because i've got a few out for testing while i mull over which one will be used on this Springs canoe trip.



when it comes to "first fire" i take them outside and light them stove up in this old wash tub.i keep a bucket of water handy with a big old towel in it.if the stoves runs out of control or blows a safety valve i toss the wet towel over it,not the bucket of water.any spilled burning fuel stays in the tub of course and the towel smothers the stove,that way i don't have the fuel burning on top of water.

Uni, I stand corrected!

Sue

Excellent idea! After hearing it, definitely a "Duh!" moment. I'll keep this in mind when I go camping.

Add an inch or two of dry, clean builder's sand to that tub and it might be even better. The sand adds weight so it is less likely to dislodged with a bump. The sand helps keep stoves upright. If you want a flat hard surface add a 12" square ceramic tile on top of the bed of sand. If you spill fuel sand adsorbs it instead of it splashing. If you knock the tub over the fuel dampened sand lays in a pile instead of the puddle running downhill, usually in the least convenient direction. If/when the tub develops a leak sand helps keep the liquid fuel in.

Builder's sand is cheap. Most building sites that use masonry have a pile they are often happy to get rid of once the masonry is done. A five gallon bucket full would do it. If possible avoid beach sand as it contains salts that can cause issues.

A second bucketful would be a good second line of fire control after your wet towel. A metal lid sized to cover the top of the tub would be good. The worse conflagration imaginable in your tub could be under control in seconds when you drop cover it. Once covered you can go inside for a nap and return when convenient.

good thinking as always Art,i have some sand left over from the winter that was used on the ice covered sidewalks..ice..the stuff you put in drinks down there..the cover and a nap is also a good one,the first time i needed the wet towel was on a Coleman gas stove and i did not wait long enough to pull it off and the stove relit.

So... Jesselp...

What kind of flowers, and what kind of candy did you get her?

Sue

All's well that ends well. But I have to ask where in NYS and who is the alarm company ? I ask because for over 20 years I have made my living as a FF in NYS and gone on thousands of automatic alarms.

Yes folks do try to cancell us but all FD's i know still respond.

Not sure if its in the NYS uniform fire code, but I do know its often an insurance issue.

I can't see any alarm company cancelling the FD when told,ya we had a fire but its out now . They often will tell us the homeowner called and said burned food, yet we still come just to make sure because folks will lie to cover up kids playing with matches, spouses burning the others clothes and so on .

You get credit for staging a live drill for extinguishing a fire. I'm glad you passed the drill .. otherwise your wife or girlfriend might have killed you. Ha! Ha!!

Pete #2