laura_seabrook | Kitchen Fire Mk II

Must be an annual event. Just now I almost set my house on fire (again).

I was making pancakes, but also working on the next page of Future Imperfect for my Web Comics. Not good for me to be doing something on the stove and something on the computer. Last year I had a wok dish go up in flames!

This time around I was making pancakes, or trying to, when I noticed that flames were coming up underneath the fry pan. I removed that and put it over the sink. Then I went back and saw that the flames were coming from the grease protector underneath. I carefully lifted the hinged top and propped it up - there was a great big pool of congealed grease burning there. Got a pot, filled it up with water and doused the flames. Then I scooped up the residue into an empty dry cat food box and threw it in the bin. Put the stove top back down and finished making pancakes (I made too much).

Gasp - my concentration's been all over the place in the last week, but that's no excuse. I wondered why the stove top lately had looked so clean. Normally I have heaps of spills and clean it up with a damp paper towel. Guess I'll have to clean the grease guard a lot more often.