A Waterloo home is now unlivable after a family tried to make a quick breakfast.

Waterloo firefighters have confirmed the home caught fire Sunday morning after a Pop-Tart was put into a toaster.

The homeowner, Carla Cavanaugh, believes the home was destroyed in no more than ten minutes. She says she popped the Pop-Tart into the toaster and then went into her bedroom for a moment. According to Cavanaugh, everything happened very fast. She told KWWL, "From the toaster oven, into my bedroom, to yelling at them, to calling the fire department, to four-and-a-half minutes for them to get here, I bet you 10 minutes, ten minutes, that's all it took."

Thankfully, everyone in Cavanaugh's family heard screaming about the fire and got out safely. Her home wasn't so lucky. Everything in the home was damaged by smoke from the fire, damage from water from firefighting efforts, or was just destroyed by the flames.

The Liljegren Law Group says around 700 people are killed every year due to either fires caused by a toaster, or electrocutions associated with them.

Consumer Affairs says you shouldn't walk out of the room when using a toaster. Keep an eye on them at all times. Clean them often to reduce any risk of fire and put a fire extinguisher in your kitchen, if you don't have one there already.

Insurance Quotes lists toasters as #5 on the list of the most dangerous appliances. The most common causes of toaster fires are them turning themselves on or jamming in the down position when toasting something.

 

A good friend of mine knows two different families that have had fires caused by toasters, plugged in, but not in use. That's part of the reason every time I walk by a toaster plugged in at work, I unplug it. Immediately. You can never be too safe.

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