Circle of Fire

For dinner yesterday, I wanted to have a burrito and a salad. So I placed a tortilla in the toaster oven, and headed out to the garden to pick salad ingredients. There were a few cherry tomatoes, a big tomato ready to come in before the squirrels ate it, some basil, and just a bit of mint. And a banana pepper.

I describe all of this to indicate the approximate duration of my stay in the back yard. I entered the house and instantly smelled "burning something" and could see a bit of a haze ahead.

I rush into the kitchen, and behold, I saw flames behind a cloudy toaster oven door. I yelled "CHRIS!" but I quickly remembered she was outside mowing, and not likely to hear me. I grabbed baking soda from the pantry, swung open the oven door, and saw a circle of fire. I threw copious amounts of the baking soda into the oven until I didn't see flames. And then I threw on a bit more.

The house still smells, and I need a bit more time with the oven to remove the scorch stains. But I have to say that I'm impressed with the ability of the oven to hold the fire.

I don't know if I need to test the oven before plugging it back in and using it. I fear I could have baked a circuit board or some critical timer. But it seems to me that the toaster oven engineers should have foreseen "burning mass of food" and computed a few heat transfer equations. I didn't retain enough info from that class to replicate their efforts, so I'm guessing that I'll just use the oven and hope for the best. Or I'll let one of my roommates try first...