If you don't already PLEASE PLEASE get smoke alarms fitted, and also make sure you close all your doors when you got to bed

[TheQueenOfQuotes]

Because we've just had a horrible scare.
I was sat in the living room about 45 minutes ago reading DS2 a story and giving DS3 a cuddle while DH was warming DS3's milk in the microwave takes about 1 minute in ours (no comments about using microwaves for it please - this isn't the thread - it could have been anything in there).

DH popped into the bathroom (downstairs one at the far end of the kitchen) just as he was coming out I looked up to see smoke pouring into the living room and kitchen full of white smoke.

DH opened the microwave and got the bottle out and switched it off and we opened all the doors and window to let the smoke out. It was a few seconds after that the smoke alarm finally went off. The alarm is tested regularly (actually we've got 2 - one for "smoke" and one for "flame" ie smokeless fire) - and often goes off even if you're frying something or if you leave the oven open for more than about 10 seconds when switched on. Infact it went off this afternoon so we know it works. But it still took several seconds for it to go off in this instance.

In the time it took for us to notice the smoke, and for the alarm to go off the smoke had alrady started going into the lounge/diner and into the hallway. The upstairs smoke alarm didn't go off as because of the shape of our hallway (low at the bottom and then gets "big" once you're half way up the stairs) the smoke (for the time being) was trapped in the downstairs part. A few seconds/minutes? later it probably wouldn't have gone off.

However it made me realise that if that had been at night we may not have heard the downstairs smoke alarm (kitchen is quite a "distance" from our bedroom and you can't really hear anything - DH can't even hear me shouting at the DS's if he's in bed and I'm in the kitchen). If that had happened and the doors had been open the hallway would almost certainly have been completely full of smoke by the time we were alerted to it......and that is our only escape route!

Thankfully this time nothing serious happened (apart from now having a duff microwave and DH a cold dinner with no way of reheating.....any ideas???) but it could have been so much worse.

, QOQ.

Maybe you should fit another smoke detector on the wall halfway up the stairs? Or get linked ones? But v scary that it took such a time to go off. Glad you are all OK

(For DH's dinner - covered plate in oven if you have oven; otherwise covered plate on top of large saucepan of simmering water) (or ask neighbour to use their microwave?)

if you're really worried you could look into getting a home sprinkler system fitted. we have one and it's nice to know it's there (we didn't plan to get one, it was result of an architect ballsing up renovation plans).

Due to an extension built, and to meet with new fire regs, we had to have ours linked to each other, and powered by mains supply.

Its a very sensitive system, but, quite frankly we are glad of this. Also, when the alarm on the ground floor goes off, all the alarms go off on each floor.

The annoyance of alarms going off when cooking is easy to live with, knowing it could be a life saver in future.

You should also have CO2 detectors people!

We have the same ROFFLE, we do have a fireplan KM but I don't think the children would know what to do if we were unconscious (we have explained 999 to dd but she is only 4yrs and ds is 2yrs so too young...however our bedroom is in converted loft so any fire would be unlikely to reach us before the children unless it started upstairs) to be honest the thought terrifys me and if I ever got my dream to build my own house I would have a sprinkler system installed.

Have CO2 detector but need to check it more often or it's a bit pointless having it!

Our CO2 detector goes off with an alarm

Sounds dreadful QoQ So what happened then, did the microwave just burn out or what?

This scares me to bits. Thanks for the reminder. OUr smoke detector broke a few weeks ago. Will get a few new ones tomorrow

Wilkie - we have a CO2 dectortor too - also checked regularly.

Actually DH and I have just been discussing this particular microwave.......and realise that the toaster which I broke a while back was also the same brand - Cookworks.....it went with a "bang" .....and a puff of smoke. Didn't think much of it at the time (it was a cheap and cheerful one - you expect them to have a short life) - but now we've realised that the microwave was also Cookworks.

And I've just googled and found this where someone part way down has had problems with a cookworks toaster, and this thread where 2 people had problems with Cookworks Slowcookers!

DH has just dashed off to Tesco to buy (along with SMA and new trousers for DS3 as he's too big for his others) a Microwave - with strict instructions not to go anywhere near to anything that has "Cookworks" on it.

UCM - don't know - there's no "obvious" signs of burning/smoke on it - so I guess it was coming from inside where you can't see.

Thankfully (after all the panic of last week - and typically so of course) DH got paid yesterday instead of Monday as Monday is a Bank Holiday (his pay slip had still said 27th so he assumed he wouldn't get it until then).

sounds like you could do with a foreman to come and check the position of your alarms. they do it for free round here (i think) and will offer other advice re fires and escaping

fireman not foreman lol

I live in Bristol and the local fire brigade come and fit alarms, and give you a talk about fire safety. They were brilliant. The alarms have 10 year batterys, and they come back in 10 years. Apparently there is government money for this so most fire brigades should do it. The main thing they told me was to never let one person investigare a fire. Apparently this is why you get one family member outside with the rest stuck inside, they open a door and block of the escape route. You should always all leave.

Anyway, it is a brilliant service!

a foreman .

We have a tiny kitchen (I doubt you could swing a cat in it) and having tried many positions (most of which resulted in it going off while doing something as simple as boilig the kettle or a pan of water - and now having lots of little holes in the ceiling ) this was the only place where it would only go off when frying things/leaving the oven door open for a long time. - and it's actually almost directly above the microwave.

It went off earlier this afternoon while I was frying sausages, and went off LOADS 2 days ago when I was cooking chicken drumsticks (on the grill pan which hadn't been washed from previous use- in the oven ) and roastig potatoes at the same time. There was a tiny amount of smoke coming out of the oven (from the fat burning) and it went off every single time I so much as opened it a fraction to have a peak...

I fried some chicken in a casserole this week and it spat everywhere, all over my clothes and my hands as well as the hob and the walls and the counter - it's the worst thing for spitting and will have gone all over the elements of your grill, making it smoke more.

So glad you're all ok, how scary.

I was telling dd the other day about what would happen if we had a fire and where to go and she got terribly upset and started crying. She was worried and scared that we'd die and ds2 would be left upstairs with us and so he'd die too. poor think I had to really comfort her and explain how it probably wouldn't happen.

Happened to us a few months ago and the smoke alarm saved our lives.

I left a tea towel on the cooker and switched on what I thought was the correct burner to boil an egg - it's one of those ancient electric cookers with the black rings on them that don't change colours when you turn them on.

I was ironing in the living room and DH was watching 'ER' when the alarm sounded.

Smoke damage in teh kitchen galore, but we all got out okay including pets.

Our house is small and we have 2 linked to the electricity supply, one in the hall next to the kitchen and one on our landing. We also have a carbon monoxide detector that is battery powered with an alarm but it has been going off a few times this week with an error code so going to purchase a new one today as you just never know.

Glad all was ok but would definately find a way so you can hear all the smoke alarms in the night.

We have linked wired-in ones and emergency lighting(which also came on after I belw a fuse and lost downstairs power) but the hall one is missing (recently ,moved in) but wires and mounting there and ahve a battery one pro tem. Any one know where we can get a spare(round), only seen battery or square ones in diy stores.