Have you ever started a fire by making microwave popcorn?

I never have, but I love how you put the bag outside and then soaked it in water. I am a freak about fire too. When I blow out a match I run it under water before I throw it out. I rarely light candles. I never leave anything flammable on the stove or stored in an oven.

@jca I’ve never heard of microwaved popcorn catching fire – but it sounds like your instincts were good.

Seriously, though – that stuff is really bad for you. Try popping it over the stove instead.

No, but back in middle school the fire alarm went off because someone left a popcorn bag in a classroom microwave for too long. The entire school was evacuated before they figured out what the problem was.

I have burned microwave popcorn many a time, and I can honestly say that have never started a fire with it, nor have I been concerned that I might.

But, if you are ever again concerned that this might happen, using a fire extinguisher or stamping it out would be much more effective as it would likely be a grease/oil fire and therefore would not be easily extinguished with water.

I’ve never started a fire with it. Our smoke detectors are most unforgiving of cooking excesses, and in a condo, setting them off empties the entire building, leaving the lousy chef most chagrined. So I am obsessively careful about checking the settings. The microwave has a Popcorn button that seems to work beautifully with microwave popcorn bags. So I just have to watch out for fat finger syndrome.

Just about every time! I hate the microwave popcorn, I think my microwave is super powered and the bag almost always goes up in smoke. I like making popcorn the old fashioned way in a big pot with a lid. I’m bad, I have deactivated all my smoke detectors, pain in the ass they are, I’ll take my chances. lol

I agree about burning popcorn plenty of times, but never catching fire, which is really lucky. I’ve found that the popcorn button is basically useless so my advice for a normal sized bag of popcorn is to use time 2:50. It comes out perfect for me every time. For small bags, I’d go for 1:50.

My microwave turns itself off when it detects smoke, but it has done so several times.

Back in the days when microwave ovens were a novelty and there was no pre-packaged microwave popcorn, we would just put the kernels in a brown paper lunch sack. It routinely scorched and often erupted in flames.

Microwave popcorn uses a special paper bag that is much more resistant to fire, though it’s still possible.

Yes. It was years ago. I learned a big lesson: Never leave the microwave unattended.

If I had waited even 20 secs longer to come back to the kitchen, I would have need the fire dept. The flames were just shy of our upper cabinets from the inside of our over the range mounted microwave.

Totally. Me and my friend clo were and the atual micowave exploded the light bulb set fire so did the pocorn bag!! My poor popcorn i was looking so foward to that!! :(

TOTALLY I literally just did it ahas insane and I had to put it out with a hose.!!!!!

Nope. I’ve only started two fires in my kitchen. Neither involved the microwave and both were small and contained ; )