How a family’s cat lit an oven – and almost burned down a house

A Michigan homeowner narrowly avoided disaster after his furnace caught fire in the middle of the night.

The culprit behind the flames?

According to firefighters, it was the family’s cat.

The Almira City Fire Department says it received a call at 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 1 about a house fire on Burnt Mill Road.

“The investigation determined that a pet had put the furnace into self-cleaning mode while the occupants were asleep, causing the fire,” the department said on its Facebook page.

Fortunately, the fire was contained within the furnace and the occupants of the home were awakened by smoke detectors.

This well-prepared family even had a fire extinguisher on hand, which was used to put out the flames before they spread.

“Congratulations to this homeowner who has working smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher!” the department said.

But let’s go back: how could a cat light the oven and almost burn down a house?

Like a cat almost burned down a house

On Facebook, Brian Adams posted a photo of the burnt 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 poor design!” Adams wrote.

He then explains how the kitten’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 to get in the grease,” he said.

“In hindsight, a fat 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 the oven sounds extreme, it’s not unusual, experts say.

“Furnaces catching fire is nothing new to us,” says Daniel Vasilevski, owner of Bright Force Electrical, an electrical services company.

“A cat stepping on the stove buttons and accidentally activating the self-cleaning mode shows how easily things can go wrong.”

In the Facebook thread, a woman named Mary Fouch shared her story: “My brother had a cat turn on his gas stove.”

Dogs aren’t exempt either – one woman told of a friend whose dog lit the stove.

How to keep your stove safe from pets and others

“Many modern stoves come with a locking feature for the controls, which can prevent accidental activation, and if yours doesn’t, you can always invest in childproof covers for added safety,” says Vasilevski.

“Making sure your stove is turned off and locked when not in use is a simple but effective way to avoid potential hazards.â€

Also, keep your stove empty when not in use. Adams admitted it was his pan full of bacon grease that ignited inside the oven when his pet went into self-cleaning mode.

“The best thing to do is never use your furnace to store anything,” warns Mike Leggett, a licensed home inspector at Real Estate Bees.

“It is not a cooling rack, food storage container, or shelter.”

Vasilevski also advises regular cleaning of the interior.

“Grease, crumbs, and food residue can build up inside over time, especially near the heating elements,” says Vasilevski.

“These pieces of debris can ignite when the oven reaches high temperatures, especially during the self-cleaning mode, which is designed to run extremely hot.â€

Steve Lockwood, owner of the 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’re going to reheat a pizza in the oven, don’t put the box in it.” If you are not sure if a container is oven safe, do not use it.

He also agrees that stoves should not be used as storage space.

“Some homeowners have a lot of stuff in their homes, so they put pots, pans, plastic containers and dish towels in their ovens,” he says.

“The problem is they forget to put those things in there and when they turn on the oven, they start a fire.”

You should keep smoke detectors on fresh batteries and a fire extinguisher handy. Without these two things, this particular furnace fire could have ended in tragedy.

And it can’t hurt if you thus have a stove similar to the one that caught fire to keep pets out of the kitchen when you’re not around.