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Holy cow. Feeling very lucky today.

The Cen-Tex Smoker
The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,951
edited March 2013 in EggHead Forum
Went out to cook out leg of lamb for dinner tonight and this what I found. My table had caught fire sometime after my pizza cook last night. We were gone to a movie and the kids were home alone. The table was so weak that it could have easily tumped over and spilled hot lump all over my deck. My sons bedroom is 10 feet away. Somehow it snuffed itself out. Not a mark on the wooden railing that was inches away. The weird part is that this happened at the felt level, not the bottom where the lump is burning. Feel very fortunate today. Never been so happy to go out to dinner in my life. Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos All that is left of my grill brush. It had a long plastic handle and several metal parts. Only a pile of wires left Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos My fire box had a small crack before.....here is the after: Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos Here is the wooden deck rail 6" from the fire. Not a mark: Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos I cooked pizza and it was humming along at 550-600 for an hour. I just left it going to burn it out after. I guess it somehow ran away and the temps got out of control. I thought it was burning down. We didn't leave for another hour or so. Have no idea when or how this happened. I was shaking when I first saw it. Still don't have a clue how, when, or why. Just feel lucky. Careful out there boys and girls.
Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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Comments

  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    WOW, CT !!! Glad everything worked out OK.  That is scary.

    I'm confused how it happened.  After you do your pizzas, don 't you close the bottom vent and put the cap on the top?  If you do that, how could this happen?


    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • SmokinDAWG82
    SmokinDAWG82 Posts: 1,705
    OMG, you were oh so lucky. Another Easter blessing!
    LBGE
    Go Dawgs! - Marietta, GA
  • GrannyX4
    GrannyX4 Posts: 1,491
    Oh my.  That is scary.  Just went out to check the egg.......
    Every day is a bonus day and every meal is a banquet in Winter Springs, Fl !
  • WOW, CT !!! Glad everything worked out OK.  That is scary.

    I'm confused how it happened.  After you do your pizzas, don 't you close the bottom vent and put the cap on the top?  If you do that, how could this happen?


    I thought it was burning down so I just let it clean burn while we ate. I had the daisy on but open and that what was holding 550-600 for the pizza cook. It was in the exact same position today. I can't imagine how the temp skyrocketed after holding steady for an hour at that setting. mayne it was just too hot for too long. I did use Best of the West lump and it was sparking like the 4th of July when I lit it. But just like always, once going, it seemed to settle down.Maybe an ember from the start up got out and started all this. I dunno, still freaked out
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • You are a lucky man Cen-Tex!  Thank the Lord nobody got hurt!  Using your warranty for another firebox?  That motivates me more to get my scheme to replace mine going!
    Flint, Michigan
  • You are a lucky man Cen-Tex!  Thank the Lord nobody got hurt!  Using your warranty for another firebox?  That motivates me more to get my scheme to replace mine going!
    for sure. That firebox in only 2 months old. It cracked my first wok cook and then this happened last night. 
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • hapster
    hapster Posts: 7,503
    Holy crap!!! Man you are lucky... Thank god it was no worse than a table and brush.

    That's the one thing that always troubles me cooking on my deck with the egg. In fact, going to go check it in a few minutes.

    Glad you and the family are okay
  • BOWHUNR
    BOWHUNR Posts: 1,487
    That was as close a call as I'd ever want.  I'm glad everything turned out o.k. for you.  It really does make you wonder how that happened though.  That could have been a real bad deal if it would have fully ignited when you were all asleep.  Yet another reason I'll stick with my stainless table.

    Mike

    I'm ashamed what I did for a Klondike Bar!!

    Omaha, NE
  • BOWHUNR said:
    That was as close a call as I'd ever want.  I'm glad everything turned out o.k. for you.  It really does make you wonder how that happened though.  That could have been a real bad deal if it would have fully ignited when you were all asleep.  Yet another reason I'll stick with my stainless table.

    Mike
    Yep- I'll never have a wood table again. Going to find a stainless one this week. Well worth the money after this little dust up. 
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • egger ave
    egger ave Posts: 721
    A good friend of mine burned his garage to the ground last year with a propane fired burner on Christmas day. The fire department told him that their dog or someone else knocked the burner over which melted the hose and released the contents of the tank. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes. My friend was in the house getting a cup of coffee when he saw the flames and called the fire department. I bought a fire extinguisher the next day and keep on the porch with my BGE's

    1 Large BGE, 1 Mini BGE, 1 Minimax BGE, Original wife and 3 dogs living in the heart of BBQ country in Round Rock Texas. 

    "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

    Albert Einstein
  • egger ave said:
    A good friend of mine burned his garage to the ground last year with a propane fired burner on Christmas day. The fire department told him that their dog or someone else knocked the burner over which melted the hose and released the contents of the tank. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes. My friend was in the house getting a cup of coffee when he saw the flames and called the fire department. I bought a fire extinguisher the next day and keep on the porch with my BGE's

    I have a fire extinguisher 20 feet away. The scary part is, I have no idea when it happened or why. I never saw it until an hour ago.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    Jeebus.  There must have been a smoldering fire that started before you shut the egg down.  Fire can't squeeze between the gasket - if you had a gasket. 
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • Jeebus.  There must have been a smoldering fire that started before you shut the egg down.  Fire can't squeeze between the gasket - if you had a gasket. 

    I have a nomex gasket and the daisy and draft door were open so any flames were going out the top. I never shut the egg down. It looks like a runaway burnout. Still don't know how that happened since the daisy was in the same exact position I left it at 600 after i cooked pizzas. I'm still baffled.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • CPARKTX
    CPARKTX Posts: 2,095
    Wow that is scary. Our house burned down when I was little (TV shorted out) and it is a horrible experience.
    LBGE & SBGE.  Central Texas.  
  • Charlie tuna
    Charlie tuna Posts: 2,191
    This should be a shocking view to anyone cooking over a flamable material. "I just left it going to burn it out after. I guess it somehow ran away and the temps got out of control. I thought it was burning down."   Any "open" area in the gasket area can produce high temperatures -- how high??  As high as the egg can produce.  Also, wood that is subjected to heat over and over begins to dry out and it's flame point reduces with time.  I have never, nor would i ever, allow my egg to "burn down" without watching it.  Thanks Cen-Tex for posting this, and i hope the cause is pinpointed and communicated to every egg owner.  Agreed "this is scary"!!
  • This should be a shocking view to anyone cooking over a flamable material. "I just left it going to burn it out after. I guess it somehow ran away and the temps got out of control. I thought it was burning down."   Any "open" area in the gasket area can produce high temperatures -- how high??  As high as the egg can produce.  Also, wood that is subjected to heat over and over begins to dry out and it's flame point reduces with time.  I have never, nor would i ever, allow my egg to "burn down" without watching it.  Thanks Cen-Tex for posting this, and i hope the cause is pinpointed and communicated to every egg owner.  Agreed "this is scary"!!

    The gasket is perfect. Flames were not coming out the gasket for sure. I still can't piece it all together.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • R2Egg2Q
    R2Egg2Q Posts: 2,136
    Holy cow indeed! Scary stuff. Glad no more damage was done CT. You were incredibly lucky it wasn't a lot worse.

    All of a sudden I'm appreciating my metal table & concrete patio a lot more.
    XL, Large, Small, Mini Eggs, Shirley Fabrication 24x36 Patio, Humphrey's Weekender, Karubecue C-60, MAK 1-Star General, Hasty Bake Gourmet, Santa Maria Grill, Webers: 14" WSM, 22.5" OTG, 22.5" Kettle Premium, WGA Charcoal, Summit S-620 NG

    Bay Area, CA
  • Charlie tuna
    Charlie tuna Posts: 2,191

    What about the possibility of the brush being up against the side of the egg??  Something had to conduct the heat to that 2 X 4 on the right hand side of the table??

  • JRWhitee
    JRWhitee Posts: 5,678
    You guys dodged a bullet there, I am glad everyone is safe. That could have been real bad. 
                                                                
    _________________________________________________
    Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!
    Large BGE 2006, Mini Max 2014, 36" Blackstone, Anova Sous Vide
    Green Man Group 
    Johns Creek, Georgia
  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
    Wowsers, scary. I am glad everyone is okay man.
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
  • Alton
    Alton Posts: 509
    Wow, thanks for sharing. We all can learn a lesson from this. God was smile down on you and your family
    PROUD MEMBER OF THE WHO DAT NATION!!!!! Stuck in Dallas.......
  • What about the possibility of the brush being up against the side of the egg??  Something had to conduct the heat to that 2 X 4 on the right hand side of the table??


    That's what I'm thinking. Have no idea where the rest of the brush is. it may have melted the plastic and started that way.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • smokinsooner
    smokinsooner Posts: 161
    edited April 2013

    Glad all is well. Any lightning in your area last night?

    we had a hell of a storm this morning... just a random thought.
    (it would have had to be a "smart" lightning strike to miss the deck and the egg...)

    BOOMER!
  • grEGGorys
    grEGGorys Posts: 168
    Thank you for posting the picture. It is worth a thousand words. Glad you were lucky and perhaps your posting will make other more careful and even save some lives.
    Gulf Coast FL
  • I figured it out- Somehow the brush caught on fire and caught the table on fire. The brush is the only thing that burned completely. There is no sign of it anywhere other than the pile of wire. I still have no idea how this could have happened- the egg was 600 and had been for an hour. It was starting to go down when we ate dinner so I just let if burn all the way down. My guess is that the brush had been in contact with the egg for the whole cook and somehow got so hot it combusted. It's the only thing that is a pile of ash. had to be the brush. Sketchy.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Charlie tuna
    Charlie tuna Posts: 2,191
    Thanks for posting, this will be a lesson for all egg owners to consider and remember, and it can happen, when i am egging i always have a damp towel near the egg!!!  Just glad you and your family are safe!!!
  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,704
    So glad to hear that everyone is safe and that the house did not suffer any damage.

     I'm with nola - I think a spark or ember escape unnoticed and set the wood smoldering. May have gone unnoticed since you were smelling burning charcoal from the cook. Smoldering wood fires can burn very long and its real burning even if it doesn't look like it.

    Man you dodged a big bullet. Go buy lottery tix or something.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • Thanks for posting, this will be a lesson for all egg owners to consider and remember, and it can happen, when i am egging i always have a damp towel near the egg!!!  Just glad you and your family are safe!!!

    Thanks. We are all pretty stunned but happy to be eating spaghetti :)
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • njl
    njl Posts: 1,123
    I have a small plastic shovel that I stole from the kids sand and water table that I've been using as an ash scoop when cleaning the egg.  I keep it on the lower shelf next to the egg.  One time, I was cooking, and didn't realize the shovel was in contact with the egg.  Where they were in contact, the shovel melted.  I guess I'm lucky it melted and did not ignite.

    BTW, I also keep a fire extinguisher on the patio not far from the egg.

    Another possibility worth mentioning...my table (came from an egg dealer) has wheels, and I've noticed when I roll it around, the whole thing flexes a bit and the egg can end up in contact with the upper deck boards.  When this happens, I shift the egg or table to get them out of contact before lighting.  I don't know if the egg can ignite wood in contact with the upper portion of the lower half...but I sure don't want to find out first hand.