A woman has shared how microwaving a brownie ended up with her house burning to a crisp – and is sharing the nightmare ordeal as a strong warning.
Amber Mowery was left “all over the place” after seeing everything she had worked hard for gone in an instant.
The 46-year-old was thankful that her daughter, Kyndall, 22, and their four dogs had made it out alive and with no injuries.
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But now, though, it’s cost the family their home and over $400,000 (USD) (£295,000) in repairs, contents and restoration.
Kyndall shared a clip, racking up 17m views and 2.2m likes, of the incident to help raise awareness.
“I was so scared to see everything I had worked for burned to a crisp,” the high school teacher told Need To Know.
“I cried because of the realisation of what had happened and from that point on, everything would be different.
“I thought there had to be more to it – how can a fire start from something that was never actually on fire?”
In the video, Kyndall says that she accidentally put her brownie in the microwave to warm up for two minutes instead of 20 seconds.
She shows the cooking device smoking, with the time stamp of 10:05pm.
After 10 minutes, the smoke continued to rise and the burning smell only got worse.
Kyndall’s video cuts to a shot of her outside an hour later as a swarm of fire trucks wait outside her home.
Inside, the kitchen has been torn apart, with the ceiling collapsed and the walls covered in black soot.
The microwave, however, appears untouched.
She wrote: “Two minutes. My entire home. It was just a brownie.
“Everything was fine when I went to bed, until I heard the beeping.
“The guilt is eating me alive and last night just keeps playing over and over in my head.”
Users have flocked to the comments to share their reactions and praise for Kyndall sharing the ordeal.
“I am so confused how this became a house fire,” Kitty said.
Stephanie added: “Had no clue this could happen, think of how many people you just educated on how to handle burnt food so they don’t get the same outcome.”
“How!!!! The microwave doesn’t even look burnt. I’m praying,” another user commented.
Someone else added: “Always run water over your burnt food before throwing it out.”
“Oh my god? How did this go from 0 to 100 so fast,” Maria said.
Amber, from North Carolina, US, said: “I was actually at work in my second job when she called me in a panic saying the house was on fire.
“I left within one minute and came home to 10 fire trucks lining up the neighbourhood.
“Kyndall feels so guilty, even though she did everything right.
“She ultimately saved herself, her brother and the animals.
“She has trouble sleeping and cooking now, even though she loves cooking.”
Amber says everything, right now, is non-salvageable.
Sentimental items, such as kids’ ornaments, gifts passed down through generations and tokens from trips abroad are all gone.
Their home has been stripped down to the studs and for now, they’re living in an Airbnb.
She added: “Always be cautious when something comes out hot.
“Just because it’s not on fire doesn’t mean it will not start one.
“Keep the food item out for a long period of time to cool.
“And also have protocols in place so you know what to do in case of a fire.”
