Fire!

So did anyone know that certain paper plates have aluminum in them? I certainly didn’t today when I attempted to microwave my lunch on one. First there was the distinctive smell that come from metal burning electrically. I look in the microwave and the plate was sparking like crazy. So of course I quickly turned the microwave off and turned around thinking that the trouble had been averted and I would have to find another way to heat my lunch.

Well I was wrong. The other lady in the lunchroom pointed at the microwave somewhat panicked. I turned around to see flames growing in the microwave. I wasn’t really sure what to do. You’re told over and over again how to deal with stuff like that, but it’s just too easy to freeze up when the moment comes. She pointed at the fire extinguisher which I quickly grabbed, pulled the pin, and quickly sprayed into the microwave. Disaster averted! Now for the cleanup…

Fire extinguishers make quite a mess. Fire dust everywhere! We shut the doors to the kitchen, opened the one to the outside, and turned on the vent over the stove. The smell, smoke and dust quickly subsided and did not spread to the rest of the building. Cleaning up the dust was quite a pain, though it isn’t everyday that you can say you vacuumed a microwave.

Since my lunch was destroyed I headed to a nearby restaurant appropriately called Firehouse Subs.