Fireball from smoker singed my hair!

[wcpreston]

I have a Backwoods Smoker Chubby G2, with a firebox below and cooking compartment above. I also use a fireboard controller w/a pit viper fan. (What happened is NOT a negative reflection on either of these products. They worked as designed. I just wanted you to know what I had.)

After the cook and meal, a guest started asking about my smoker, so I gave them a "tour" of the firebox, followed by opening the cooking compartment. The moment I did, a gigantic ball of flame hit me in the face and burned some of the hair on my head. Yes, actual singed hair, complete with that unmistakable smell. No burns or other damage, though. <whew>

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN, you might ask... I was trained as a firefighter in the navy, so I can tell you the fire triangle is fuel, heat, and air.

Fuel: plenty of beef and turkey fat in the water pan from an extended cook. But the flashpoint of beef is 600F! (If you don't know, the flashpoint is the degree at which something will burn.)

Heat: I got distracted after pulling the meat, also accidentally pulling the cooker temp probe out, which caused the fireboard to think I needed more air on the coals, and to turn the fan on for the next hour or so. The excess temp boiled all the water in the pan away, causing the temps in the smoker to go (I guess) higher than 600F.

Air: The moment I opened the door, I completed the fire triangle. Voila! Giant fireball!

PSA: Don't ignore your smoker after you pull your meat. Shut her down. Close the dampers and turn off any fans.

[texastweeter]

Happened to me on an offset I was seasoning about 10 years ago. I wasn't as lucky as you. One eyebrow, half my beard/moustach, and the skin inside and outside my right nostril were vaporized. Happens at night, and my wife said when it happened, the backyard looked like daylight for a moment. I believe Mr. Bones had a similar situation at a biker rally he was pittmaster for once, lol.

[wcpreston]

Was anyone hurt? That sounds really scary.

[Mr. Bones]

wcpreston affirmative; some folks was burned some, includin my dang ol self, 100 m away...
It was not a purty event.

[Sweaty Paul]

Hope the guitars and Fedoras were ultimately ok Mr. Bones

[Old Glory]

Did the same thing on my on my Humphrey's Cabinet smoker. I was lucky that the flames stayed inside the box but I had to change my shorts.

[ofelles]

Thanks good reminder. When in a hurry getting the meat out and on the table. Note to self shut it down.
I hope your cooker is okay also. I have a LSG and it recommends keeping it at 400F or less.

[wcpreston]

I’m now thinking that just the water pan was that temp.

[Jerod Broussard]

Pit Barrel, briskets wrapped in butcher paper, upon removing one brisket the greased poured out and created what could be described as a "$&$#@# mushroom cloud!" Hair on the left arm was gone....no worries, it leaves when sharpening broadheads anyways.

[Panhead John]

The distal end of your ulna looks to be slightly enlarged.

[Mr. Bones]

Ya might jus be a Pitmaster, if'n...

[HawkerXP]

You have more than one bald spot.

[smokenoob]

your eyebrows ain't symetric....

[Histrix]

Kamado users learn that they should always "burp" them when opening the dome to avoid creating a fireball. But we all forget and then get caught by the short hairs (so to speak) occasionally.

[smokin fool]

Agreed I learned the hard way to burp mine sadly my memory seems to fail me more than help me.

[tbob4]

I learned in my vertical smoker that drip pans beneath pork butts need to be emptied at least once, if not twice, during a low and slow cook.

[Bkhuna]

I was trained as a firefighter in the navy...

Prepare to gooseneck.

[wcpreston]

I turned to the sailor behind me and yelled "relieve the nozzleman!" He said "f**k this!" and ran up the ladder, leaving me and the other sailor there. I shouted "relieve the nozzleman" again, and I hear "relieve the nozzleman, aye!" in this young girl's voice. Yup. It was a female, rare in those days, but the reserve squadron was aboard. That 5' nothing female then manned that 2.5" firehose (designed for 3-5 men) all by herself as I ran to safety. Never got her name.

[Mr. Bones]

Ah, yes...

I remember Damage Control / Firefightin Trainin @ NRTC Orlando...can only imagine practical application on a U.S. Naval vessel, as I was a Seabee, never sailed, travelled this Earth by TPBwtCT...
Much Respect fer savin both yer arse, an th Connie, Brother!

[wcpreston]

I was not on the DC team, but it was almost an "all hands on deck" kind of situation. This was why I was on a fire team that I never met before or after. (Full-time Navy firefighters say BS on my story because you know your team.) I went to the second deck (I lived on the O-3 level) wearing an OBA. They handed me a canister and pointed at a hatch. I went down the ladder four or five decks to find a hose I could join. Hence me not knowing my team. Props to you, as well, shipmate!

[smokenoob]

will put that in the "great balls of fire" file for when I graduate from the pellet pooper!
thanks!