A homeowner in Michigan just barely avoided catastrophe after his oven caught on fire in the middle of the night.
The culprit behind the blaze?
According to the fire department, it was the family cat.
The Almira Township’s fire department says it got a call at 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 1 about a residential fire on the appropriately named Burnt Mill Road.
“Investigation determined that a family pet had cycled the oven into self-clean mode while residents were asleep, causing the fire,” said the department on its Facebook page.
Luckily, the fire stayed contained within the oven and the home’s occupants were awoken by smoke detectors.
This well-prepared family even had a fire extinguisher on hand, which was used to douse the flames before they could spread.
“Kudos to this homeowner for having working smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher!” said the department.
But let’s back up: How can a cat turn on an oven and almost burn a house down?
How a cat almost burned down a house
On Facebook, Brian Adams posted a photo of the charred and melted stove and circled two buttons that the cat had apparently stepped on with its paws, activating the self-cleaning mode.
“It’s definitely a poor design!” Adams wrote.
Then he explains how the kitty’s paw steps ended up causing a fire.
“I would have just woken up to a really clean oven, but I cooked bacon yesterday morning and put the pan in the oven because I didn’t want the cat getting into the grease,” he said.
“In hindsight, a greasy cat would have been much better.”
(Adams did not respond to a request from Realtor.com® for comment in time for publication.)
While a pet turning on an oven sounds extreme, it’s not uncommon, say experts.
“Ovens catching fire isn’t new to us,” says Daniel Vasilevski, owner of Bright Force Electrical, an electrical services company.
“A cat stepping on stove buttons and accidentally triggering the self-clean mode shows how easily things can go wrong.”
In the Facebook thread, a woman named Mary Fouch shared her own story: “My brother had a cat turn their gas stove on once.”
Nor are canines exempt—one woman told of a friend whose dog turned on the stove.
How to keep your stove safe—from pets and otherwise
“Many modern stoves come with a lock feature for the controls, which can prevent accidental activation, and if yours doesn’t, you can always invest in childproof covers for added security,” says Vasilevski.
“Making sure that your stove is off and locked when not in use is a simple but effective way to avoid potential hazards.”
Also, keep your stove empty when it’s not in use. Adams admitted it was his pan full of bacon grease that ignited inside the oven when his pet happened to step on the self-cleaning mode.
“The best thing to do is never use your oven to store anything,” warns Mike Leggett, a licensed home inspector at Real Estate Bees.
“It’s not a cooling rack, food storage container, or hiding place.”
Vasilevski also advises regularly cleaning the inside.
“Grease, crumbs, and food residue can accumulate inside over time, especially near the heating elements,” Vasilevski says.
“These bits of debris can ignite when the oven reaches high temperatures, especially during the self-clean mode, which is designed to run extremely hot.”
Steve Lockwood, owner of fire safety company Mountain State Fire Protection, notes that you should be vigilant about what you decide to heat.
“Know which containers or boxes are oven-safe and which are not,” he advises.
“If you are going to reheat a pizza in the oven, don’t put the box in there with it. If you aren’t sure if a container is oven-safe, don’t use it.”
He also agrees that stoves should not be used as storage space.
“Some homeowners have too many things in their homes, so they put pots, pans, plastic containers, and dish towels in their ovens,” he says.
“The problem is they forget they put those things in there, and when they turn on the oven, they start a fire.”
You should keep smoke detectors in fresh batteries and a fire extinguisher handy. Without those two things, this particular oven fire could have ended in tragedy.
And it can’t hurt, if you do have a stove similar to the one that caught fire, to keep pets clear of the kitchen when you’re not around.