Broiler Mistaken For Drawer Spells Trouble for Kitchen Towels

Firefighters responded to an East Gilman Street apartment Monday night when a fire broke out in the oven. 

The occupant said she was cooking macaroni and cheese when she began to smell something burning. She opened the drawer beneath the oven and found her kitchen towels on fire. She put out the fire with an extinguisher before companies arrived, but the charred textiles created a lot of smoke.

While Engine 1 and Ladder 1 ventilated the apartment, the tenant explained she was new to the unit and didn’t know the bottom drawer of the oven was a broiler, not a drawer meant for storage.

If you're one of the many renters starting a new lease today or in the coming weeks, this incident serves as an important reminder to familiarize yourself with your new appliances, particularly whether that “drawer” beneath the stove is actually a broiler.