She left the pizza in the box, with the internal plastic wrapper, too.

"Steve" > wrote in message
...
> My niece called yesterday, there was a little oven mishap at her
> apartment. She put in a frozen pizza, turned the gas oven to 350,
> five minutes later there was thick black smoke pouring out of the
> oven. The fire dept came out, everything's covered in soot. The
> pizza wasn't even burned, just covered with soot. Any idea what might
> cause something like this? She did mention there's a bottom oven
> drawer where she was storing a couple of cookie sheets, then she
> discovered (after the incident) that it's not actually a drawer, it's
> the broiler. But it's been that way for several months with no
> problems...
>
>
> --
>
> If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt.
>
> ...Dean Martin

"Steve" > wrote in message
...
> My niece called yesterday, there was a little oven mishap at her
> apartment. She put in a frozen pizza, turned the gas oven to 350,
> five minutes later there was thick black smoke pouring out of the
> oven. The fire dept came out, everything's covered in soot. The
> pizza wasn't even burned, just covered with soot. Any idea what might
> cause something like this? She did mention there's a bottom oven
> drawer where she was storing a couple of cookie sheets, then she
> discovered (after the incident) that it's not actually a drawer, it's
> the broiler. But it's been that way for several months with no
> problems...

The question is what did she cook last? Soot pouring out of an oven is an
indication that there is not enough oxygen for the substance "smoking" to burn.

Dimitri

My niece called yesterday, there was a little oven mishap at her
apartment. She put in a frozen pizza, turned the gas oven to 350,
five minutes later there was thick black smoke pouring out of the
oven. The fire dept came out, everything's covered in soot. The
pizza wasn't even burned, just covered with soot. Any idea what might
cause something like this? She did mention there's a bottom oven
drawer where she was storing a couple of cookie sheets, then she
discovered (after the incident) that it's not actually a drawer, it's
the broiler. But it's been that way for several months with no
problems...


--

If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt.

....Dean Martin

Steve wrote:
> My niece called yesterday, there was a little oven mishap at her
> apartment. She put in a frozen pizza, turned the gas oven to 350,
> five minutes later there was thick black smoke pouring out of the
> oven. The fire dept came out, everything's covered in soot. The
> pizza wasn't even burned, just covered with soot. Any idea what might
> cause something like this? She did mention there's a bottom oven
> drawer where she was storing a couple of cookie sheets, then she
> discovered (after the incident) that it's not actually a drawer, it's
> the broiler. But it's been that way for several months with no
> problems...
>


Someone put a piece of Tupperware in the broiler and forgot about it.
Or even worse, a polystyrene or polyvinyl-something bowl or plate.

Bob

Steve > wrote:
> My niece called yesterday, there was a little oven mishap at her
> apartment. *She put in a frozen pizza, turned the gas oven to 350,
> five minutes later there was thick black smoke pouring out of the
> oven. *The fire dept came out, everything's covered in soot. *

Your story is not believeable... no frozen pizza directions say to
cook at 350F.
And you don't even mention what the fire department determined.

Sounds more like your niece neglected to take that pizza out of the
box, and forgot the time while baking someone's calzone in HER box.

Steve wrote:
> My niece called yesterday, there was a little oven mishap at her
> apartment. She put in a frozen pizza, turned the gas oven to 350,
> five minutes later there was thick black smoke pouring out of the
> oven. The fire dept came out, everything's covered in soot. The
> pizza wasn't even burned, just covered with soot. Any idea what might
> cause something like this? She did mention there's a bottom oven
> drawer where she was storing a couple of cookie sheets, then she
> discovered (after the incident) that it's not actually a drawer, it's
> the broiler. But it's been that way for several months with no
> problems...

You must be very close. I wouldn't have thought to call my uncle if
there was a fire in my oven.

So let's see: five minutes at 350 produced thick black smoke and covered
everything with soot? And the pizza wasn't even burned? Of course it
wasn't. It had only been five minutes! And it was covered with soot,
too? Hmmmmm....

She had paper or cardboard in the oven, just as some others here have
told you. And it took longer than five minutes to burn it to that extent.

Or...

The fire was caused by something entirely unrelated and perhaps
untoward. Possibly indecent, if not illicit.

And still...

Why would she call you? Are you the landlord? You know a lot about that
stove, don't you. You know that its only a couple of years old. You know
more than your niece knows about it, certainly. Sounds as though she
never uses it for any real cooking or she would have known that the
broiler wasn't a storage drawer. No, she didn't know that. But you don't
seem surprised by it, do you.

Or maybe you don't really know anything about it, only what she's told
you. And now you know just what to say. Well, how convenient.

So why *would* she call you?

To establish an alibi? Something like this? "I was all like burning my,
um, pizza at 5:17 PM on the 26th, your honor. My uncle remembers!"

We may never know.

Moving on.

Broiling cookie sheet is an excellent was to cause warping and
scorching. And if they're nonstick cookie sheets, the fun is just
beginning. Tell me, did the canary die?

SNIP

Tell me, did the canary die?

SNIP

Sure it did. It was in the oven with the burning teflon.

BTW, anyone who owns a bird and risks using teflon should be made to
eat the teflon pan!

Teflon=dead bird