Many of us are guilty of hopping onto Shopee or Lazada to score good deals on household items.
A woman in Singapore did the same recently, purchasing a couple of silicon coasters after seeing their affordable prices.
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However, one day when using it, the silicone coaster stuck onto a hot pot. Without realising, she placed the pot back onto the stove and turned the fire on.
That was when the entire coaster caught fire, she shared in a Facebook post on Monday (26 Apr).
She now urges residents to be cautious of using such coasters at home.
According to the post, the woman placed a pot of hot water onto a silicone coaster before she started cooking in the kitchen.
When she returned to put the pot onto the stove, she failed to realise that the silicone coaster was attached to the bottom of the pot due to heat.
She turned the fire on and turned around. To her horror, she realised that her stove caught fire.
The woman panicked as it quickly turned into a sizeable blaze, even after she had turned the stove off.
Thankfully, her husband came to the rescue. He put a wet cloth over the flames a few times, and successfully extinguished it.
Their house ended up in a smoky state, and the incident even triggered the fire alarm.
The woman shared pictures of the aftermath of the incident.
Parts of the burnt silicone coaster could be seen stuck onto the stovetop.
Photos of the burnt coaster up-close show the full extent of the damage, with many parts melted and charred.
The woman wanted to use this incident to be careful of handling coasters at home.
She set a disclaimer that the incident was not the fault of the seller but her own mistake.
The woman continued that even though she was initially drawn to how cheap and aesthetically pleasing these coasters are, old school cork coasters might be the better option in the long run.
Contrary to the woman’s claims, silicone isn’t actually highly flammable.
But, this doesn’t mean that it won’t catch fire. Silicone doesn’t burn easily, and it requires temperatures of about 250°C to burn.
It’s usually unlikely to encounter such high temperatures at home, though depending on what you’re cooking, it can be possible to find temperatures like this in the kitchen.
We guess that the main takeaway here is to be careful when placing items on coasters in general.
It must have been terrifying to witness your stove catching fire. Thankfully, the couple managed to contain the flames and put them out.
Many fires break out in kitchens at home, so if you have coasters lying around your kitchen, you should handle them with care.
That being said, we do agree that silicone coasters are quite chic and affordable. If you do choose to buy them, just remember to place them in the living room so they won’t come into contact with burning hot kitchenware.
The incident is also a good reminder to invest in a fire extinguisher at home too for emergencies.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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