Dog, Wanting Pizza, Turns on Stove and Starts a Fire

I know several people who cook so rarely that their stove is more of a storage unit than a cooktop, so I guess they need to see this video.

We have all (hopefully) learned to not touch a hot stove, not we're hoping that this video will have you respecting your stove much more.

And, for full disclosure: this has happened to me, and I am lucky that my house didn't burn down.

The video begins with a stove in view and, on the stove, appears to be a pizza to-go box.

The next thing that we see in the video is a dog, and that dog seems very interested in whatever is in the pizza box.

The dog's curiosity (or hunger) prompts it to try to get to the box and, in doing so, you can see the dog's paw hit - and turn - the burner control knob.

Yup, the dog's paw turns that knob.

Now, by turning the knob, the dog could have done 1 of 2 bad things: 1) the knob could have turned enough to pass the igniter position and just allow gas to flow into the home, or 2) the knob could have turned just enough to land on the igniter position and actually light the burner.

The dog's pawing of the control knob does the latter, and a flame almost instantly appears.

What's above the flame? The pizza box.

Within a matter of seconds, the flame does its job on the box and smoke begins to fill the room before the video shuts off.

What happened after the video shut down is unknown, but I am hoping that a smoke/fire alarm alerted the homeowners so they were able to extinguish the fire before it caused any damage, other than well-done pizza.

I experienced a similar event at my home on an electric stove.

I had gone to the grocery store and, upon my return, I was successful in carrying in all 18 (or so) bags of groceries.

I had to run to the restroom, so I place ALL of the bags on the stove.

When I returned from the restroom, there was smoke in the kitchen and I could smell something burning. Seconds later, the smoke alarm was screaming at me.

I looked at the stove and noticed the "Hot Surface" light was illuminated.

Then my eyes went to the control knobs and, sure enough, one of them was on "High".

Evidently, as I was putting down my groceries on the stove, a box of Rice Krispies fell on the knob, turning it on.

I am lucky that I hadn't put my bags down and left the house!

Anyway, it's a good idea to NOT put anything on your stove, whether it's gas or electric.