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! 
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.