There’s never a dull moment for us.
Thankfully more often than not it’s in a fun way.
I was going to write an awesome post today about some cookies. Then the oven caught fire.
The fire was unrelated to the cookies. Those were successfully baked this weekend. No, the oven caught fire without anything in it. I tuned it over to pre heat and was standing at the counter rolling out the biscuit dough (see it in the background?).
Out of the corner of my eye I saw something bright… FIRE. It was coming out from the bottom of the oven. I flipped out, yelled for Vegas, and threw flour on it. The flour may have calmed it for a second, but it was not going out. At least I remembered not to put water on a gas fire!
Vegas was in the shower. She jumped out and started running around naked looking for a fire extinguisher. This normally would have been hilarious (and we’re both laughing now), but at the time I was yelling at her to put on some damn clothes. All I could think was that the place was about to go up in flames and she’s going to be in the street in a towel.
We live next door to a church, which was packed on Easter Sunday. They jumped over with a fire extinguisher and *I think* had it out before the fire department arrived. The whole thing is a slow motion blur.
The fire department was really fast though! I called 911 and it seemed like they were there as soon as I hung up the phone. And yes, they were cute. Sorry Lucie, you just missed out!
We spent the day cleaning up. We had to take everything out of the cabinets and wipe it all down, mop the ceiling, wash the walls… you wouldn’t believe how smoke gets everywhere! This really sucked since we JUST moved in and cleaned everything. Needless to say, drinking was involved.
Long story short, everyone is ok and we’re getting a pretty new oven. The cookie post will come later. We took ourselves out to nice dinner and laughed our asses off at the events of the day.
I had wine, duck, risotto, chocolate cake, and a Manhattan.
Moral of the story: know where the fire extinguisher is.
And put on your damn clothes before the fire department comes.
***
We don’t know what caused the fire, but it’s pretty marvelous the place didn’t burn down and we’re all safe!
How was your weekend?
Have you ever had a house fire?
Jerusha says
I was dying over here at your story… I set my stovetop on fire making soup. Even now I’m not sure how it happened. LoL! I’m glad you’re all OK, cookies included.
Lindsay says
Never a dull moment with you guys. But hey, duck, wine, risotto, and dessert sure do make up for it. Dang! I’ll burn my kitchen for that. Glad vegas didn’t get a burned bush. LOL!
Missy says
Oh no she dih-int!!
Lindsay!!! I am shocked.
(PS- Glad all was ok. Close call!)
Laura says
I literally snorted my coffee reading that one. Well-played.
Christina says
Oh my gosh!!! What terrible timing, but glad you two are ok! Along with the rest of the house. Jeez, not exactly the “house warming” you’d expect!
Laura says
Haha – house warming. That’s a good one.
Allie says
I freaked when I saw this on Instagram! So crazy. We had a grill fire a few summers ago and it is super scary!! So glad everyone is ok and that you were able to have a great dinner and laugh about it. Plus, it’s a great story…
Alyssa @ Renaissancerunnergirl says
Oh my gosh – glad you’re okay! When I was in college in England, I didn’t make the correct Celsius/Fahrenheit calculation in my head and set something to bake on WAY too high heat…that was interesting smoke to say the least.
Parita @ myinnershakti says
So glad you guys are ok! And I love that you’re choosing to focus on the humor! Stay safe. 🙂
Dietitian Jess says
OMG! That’s so scary but I’m glad everyone is okay! In my last rental I accidentally forgot about a tortilla i was heating up and it burned all the way through the metal pan, that was my fault though. Hope the new oven kicks ass!
Marissa says
Oh NO! How scary. So glad everyone is ok!
danielle says
oh snap! wow so glad ya’ll are okay, and no baked goods were harmed. that is major excitement for an easter weekend.
this reminds me of my 1 and only apartment fire i had – it was over 10 years ago when i was living in this dump in montrose, which i loved but still. all of the appliances were questionable, and of course i had to bake some banana bread at 3AM after not being able to sleep. well, that was a bad idea because suddenly my oven was a ball of flames. thankfully the kitchen was tiny and i had the extinguisher right there and managed to knock the whole thing out myself, but my banana loaves suffered. poor bread!
and you’re right – that smoke powder was EVERYwhere!!!! i couldn’t get it out of all the crevices and just had to laugh, eventually. funny, you never forget your kitchen fires!
speaking of baking, i actually DID get inspired during all of our packing and decided to bake instead of pack on saturday. it was a good trade because my hubby likes to eat and loves to pack on a full tummy. winner winner vegan brownie dinner!!!
Laura says
3AM banana bread fire?! I’d have lost my mind. LOL! It’s amazing how much cooking I did while packing too. Gotta use alllllll the pantry stuff up. Or at least have fun trying.
Susie @ SuzLyfe says
Glad you all are ok. The last house fire that I can remember is when I was really young (like 4? I was still staying home from school with our housekeeper) and we were having work done on the house. The people were using paint thinner or something and somehow set that on fire. Luckily a) we lived about 1/4 mile from a firestation, and b) my housekeeper and I had just baked cookies. So the firemen had minimal work and got a treat, lol.
Laura says
I bet those firemen were hoping you had another fire if they got cookies out of it! 😉
Shannon @GirlsGotSole says
Ha ha, once I read that everyone was okay, it kind of all sounds like a TV comedy of a story. That stinks about the whole fire for sure though. I know I would have been freaking out. I’m sure the hot firemen coming to the rescue help calm your nerves…along with the alcohol. 🙂
Laura says
If only… someone should really follow us around with a camera. And supervision. LOL!
Ashley @ A Lady Goes West says
Laura! That’s scary. You tell the story in a funny way, but wow! Oh man. Our microwave broke over the weekend, and it ruined my lunch. So that was pretty traumatizing too. 🙁 I can’t stand a messed-up meal. hehehe!
Kim says
First – sorry about the fire and all the extra work for y’all!
But – I love the moral(s) of the story – put some damn clothes on for sure!!!
Glad y’all are OK and were able to laugh about it!
Laura says
Lesson learned! We have to laugh… life is too crazy.
Lee says
Ack that’s scary. Glad everything is ok.
Kaila at Healthy Helper Blog says
Nothing that chocolate cake and risotto can’t fix! 😉
(But seriously, glad you’re okay!)
Laura says
Wise words! 😉
Coco (@Got2Run4Me) says
Oh my goodnesss! I’m glad everything and everyone is ok and you can laugh about it now. Off to find our fire extinguisher …. I know we have one here somewhere!
Meghan@CleanEatsFastFeets says
Thank god the cookies and Vegas’ bits and bobs are ok.
Laura says
Vegas says thank you.
Mary Legare Whaley says
Dang!! But I love this story. You totally nailed the play by play. Every food-centric blogger needs at least one fire story, am I right?! Now that all is said and done (and extinguished)….dork alert: I love new appliances, and I really love your choice upgrade. I bought an LG washer/dryer pair, and they are FAB. I also bought an LG refrigerator for my old house (I wish I brought it with me!). Love the brand. Great quality, top-notch. These days, new appliances are so cool. It’s much less depressing to replace a dead one than it was in the 90s. I remember when my parents had to replace their busted oven in 1996. They got a glass top (which was all the rage), but it was still ugly and not fun. Today, they’re sleek and stylish. I had a tiny house fire a few years ago. I was making brown-bag popcorn which is totes the norm, and the bag got caught on the turntable and stopped spinning. So i guess it overheated? The bag ignited and started flaming. I was more annoyed at the smell of burned popcorn than the fact that my microwave was on fire.
Laura says
Those glass tops suck. That’s what I had in my old house. It was impossible to keep a consistent temperature and it never looked totally clean. Worst invention ever.
Arman @ thebigmansworld says
….I thought the fire was a joke on FB. Glad you’re both doing okay and bonus…new oven!
Laura says
Arman. You should never joke about fire.
Tara @ Sweat like a Pig says
I know I shouldn’t laugh, but the thought of Vegas running around naked trying to put out a fire made me giggle! I’m glad you are both okay though – it must have been terrifying!
Laura says
Oh, we die out laughing every time we think abut it. I wasn’t funny int he moment but OMG looking back… we’re so dumb. LOL!
Jen @ Chase the Red Grape says
Ok we don’t have a fire extinguisher in our apartment :-S We do have sprinklers though… Hope they work!!
You did so well, I would have freaked out!
Khushboo says
Glad you can laugh about it now but that sounds scary- relieved you both are okay! And wine + chocolate cake makes any situ better!!
K / Pure & Complex says
You definitely need to know where the fire extinguisher is. But the bright side of this whole story, is that you got to look at some gorgeous firemen lol. Girl I am so jealous! But I am happy you guys are alright. That’s most important.
Kay of Pure & Complex
http://www.purecomplex.com
Laura says
Ha! Thanks friend. It was quite the day!
Lauren says
I’m so glad y’all are ok! And that your place is fine, that’s terrifying. I may have caused a grease fire in our oven the other month and I completely panicked. My poor husband got a nonsensical phone call. Luckily the fire died out on its own in the oven but it took me a few days to feel comfortable using it again.
Laura says
Oh no! Glad yours was ok! It really is terrifying. Vegas was supposed to go out of town Monday and I was SO glad when she decided to postpone the trip.
RavieNomNoms says
So glad that everyone is OK! It really is amazing how much the smoke covers isn’t it? My parents had a fire and it was A MESS! A mess. But hey, SCORE TO A NEW OVEN!
Laura says
Thanks! It is crazy… it left a film in nearly every room!
Abby @ BackAtSquareZero says
Holy shit!!!!
Jess @ PBnJess says
Omg do you know why it caught on fire? So crazy- glad you’re ok and can laugh about it now!
Laura says
Nope! There wasn’t anything even in it. The jerk inspector from GE didn’t do jack either. Grrrr…