Who has a home fire extinguisher?

I have a couple of old ones taken from a friend's work who were going to have to get rid of them due to their age, they are stored in the garage though rather than in the house.

We have a fire blanket in the kitchen just in case.

I'm big on fire safety but to be honest extinguishers are very limited in their use. They are there to help you escape if your escape route is compromised, many people are surprised how quickly they run out (seconds). You won't be able to put out a lithium battery with a fire extinguisher. A CO2 extinguisher lasts about 6 seconds and a 9L water one lasts about 13 seconds.

The number one thing is to have a good fire detector and alarm system and test it regularly.

Yes we have one in the kitchen cupboard under the sink. Every time I see it I think "oh yeah, we've got that". Would I remember it in a fire scenario??

Nope, but a fire blanket in the kitchen. Also interlinked smoke alarm which drive me crazy if they go off accidentally, the combined racket seems to literally freeze my brain whist I'm trying to get the bloody things to shut up.

I have 3.  One at the top of the communal stair and two in my kitchen.  Really old tho so even tho they are showing OK I wouldn't want to rely on them

No

After almost 30yrs in fire service, never felt the need.

Smoke and heat detection everywhere in the house though

Good info there airvent, thanks.
We've already got interlinked smoke alarms.

I've got a dry powder extinguisher in the garage, 2 or 2.5KG I think?  Mainly because I'm occasionally using a blow torch or welding in there. The garage is detached and 15 or so yards from the house, so not exactly handy if needed in the house.  I do occasionally think I could do with one in the house.  I've thought about a fire blanket for the kitchen, but aren't they predominantly meant for chip pan fires?  We haven't used a chip pan for about 30 years - does anyone still use an old fashioned chip pan with a basket?

Got interlinked smoke and CO alarms which test themselves monthy (Nest jobbies that were here when I bought the house). A fire extinguisher seems like the kind of thing I'd forget to make sure was still within its service life until I came to use it.

It's not a question asked on home insurance quotes so I'm taking it that they see their benefit as negligible at best.

So no.

I've done the wet tea towel trick at a friends house on a pan fire once though.

Got heat and smoke alarms, I'd like to be alerted to a fire at least so I can get me and the family out.

Me - I bought one, and a fire blanket, when I rented out a property for a few years. And if I am being honest the lack of fire exits/escapes in UK houses freaks me out a bit, only having one door to a property seems to be acceptable which is just nuts. It was not a requirement as a landlord but seemed a cheap measure that could help with a chip pan fire or the like. Now I keep them in my own home in a cupboard near the wood burner.

3 in the house; kitchen, cupboard housing with consumer unit and 1 upstairs. Further 1 in a garden room that has a leccy supply / consumer unit. Fire blanket in kitchen too, although the last time it was needed I used a damp dish towel instead as I didn't want to ruin the nice fire blanket....

I have 3. One at the top of the communal stair and two in my kitchen. Really old tho so even tho they are showing OK I wouldn’t want to rely on them

If it's got a hose, replace the oring where it screws into the valve and check the hose isn't cracked.

If it's dry powder, give it a good shake up and down every six months.

If Co2, weigh it. Make sure you can move the horn up and down but the nut is tight.

Those that have dry powder, have you ever discharged one in a confined area?

I certainly would not want to be in the confines of a house room when you do without a BA set on and you can almost certainly throw out any electrical items in that room due to powder corroding the solder. You'll also be spending the rest of your life clearing up powder.

Nope.
Interestingly, our family home had a serious fire, ooh late 70s... Best thing my mum did was close the door to the bedroom (my little bro's) where the fire was*. If she'd had an extinguisher and opened the door to try to put it out.. dunno, could've been nasty.

* the local newspaper featured it under the title, which I still remember exactly: "Well done Mum say firemen"

We have 2 - A CO2 once and a smaller powder one. The powder once is almost certainly useless as we've had it for 10 years.

I have to have them as a stipulation of insurance for a thatched cottage. One downstairs and one upstairs, along with numerous smoke detectors and wiring certification!.

Yes, although it's in the garage. And a blanket in the kitchen as we use the deep fat fryer a lot.

Have actually used one in anger when a tumble dryer went up in flames a couple of years ago (the little electrical interference suppressor was the cause).

Did have one in the car too, although the plastic handle got snapped off so had to bin it and haven't gotten around to replacing it.

I’m big on fire safety but to be honest extinguishers are very limited in their use. They are there to help you escape if your escape route is compromised, many people are surprised how quickly they run out (seconds). You won’t be able to put out a lithium battery with a fire extinguisher. A CO2 extinguisher lasts about 6 seconds and a 9L water one lasts about 13 seconds.

The advice I was given on an induction once was unless you actually see the fire start, and it's still smaller than the extinguisher when you get back to it, don't bother.

Surely the STW forum solution would be a halon drench system?

I do, fire blanket in the kitchen and extinguisher upstairs. For the cost it seems daft not to?

no, going to order up a fire blanket though as I was actually thinking about this the other day! We have mains, linked smoke & fire alarms and will probably get some more (smart) ones so as to have one in every room.

Surely the STW forum solution would be a halon drench system?

Fire blanket in the kitchen, and a dry powder extinguisher or two in all the cars. Had to use them early on when I started driving and wouldn't ever not have one in the car now. But that's probably another thread.

8 I think. They’re all above sinks/baths or showers. High volume but not particularly mobile though.

Well over 100 years service in the fire brigade in my family. No fire extinguishers owned by any of them. I think I still have a halon one from my dad's last fire brigade car, he's been retired over 30 years so probably only useful for throwing through a window to execute an escape 😂

I only have them as I have aquired them for free over many years.  One medium sized dry powder.  20 years old.  One small dry powder - even older.  One halon - gauge still reads good ( yes I know I know!)

I think I might buy a new one for the top of the stairs

Smoke/heat detectors everywhere

Fire blanket in the kitchen, was used once by my wife previously. Minor oven pan thing I think?

Fire blanket and fire extinguisher in the garage/workshop

I had an electrical fire in the middle of the night just before christmas. Absolutely filled the house with thick black electrical/plastic smoke and popped the breaker in the mere seconds it took for me to leap out of bed and put it out (thanks to the smoke alarms).
The house was extremely difficult to navigate, i could not find my keys or torch despite knowing exactly where they were. I also fell over some baby toys (a walker and a baby bouncer) that had been left out the evening before that I *knew* were there. It was so disorientating. Normally you can see enough to navigate your house with the lights out (from moonlight, street lamps etc) but i could see *nothing*.

It terrified me that if it had spread to my staircase, it would have been impossible for my family to escape. My house is a semi-detached on a hill, therefore it's about an extra meter up as my neighbour's place is at ground level and the ground drops away as it goes under our house. I think you'd kill or seriously injure yourself trying to escape via an upstairs window, let alone trying to drop a baby out.

I reckon having a couple of powder extinguishers that could buy you a few seconds to get down the stairs would be well worth having.

I am also going to get a torch and extra set of keys cut and am looking into emergency lighting that comes on when the power goes off (not really to see with but so you can orient yourself).

Yes, one in the kitchen and one in the car. I think they're powder as that covers the most scenarios

None in the house but two in the van

I've got a powder in the back of the camper and a fire blanket in there. You may say it's pointless but if you come across a crash and the occupants are stuck, it's a comforting thing to have ready.

Fire blanket in the house

In the attached garage, I have a larger powder and a bucket of fire suppression stuff that looks like wood pellets, easy to throw on a flammable liquid or to soak up a leak such as oil. STW took the piss when I got them and said I shouldn't be doing anything that risked fire (what's a garage for if you can't use a soldering iron, charge a battery, use the grinder out front or change a fuel filter?!)

What I would like is a smoke detector in my campervan that links into a house smoke detector for early warning. Last time I looked the wireless ones weren't designed for something battery powered that goes out of range and then back again.

PS I did a fire extinguisher course with the fire brigade and it took about 10 of us to put out a wastepaper basket fire with water extinguishers! Probably more effective to beat the fire out with the base of the extinguisher 🤣

I have a few around, but this thread has prompted me to go and test/check our smoke detectors, plus maybe pick up a couple more.

3 and a fire blanket.

1 is a larger Kiddie make, powder and two are a foam type.

I feel I need them because of my workshop where i sometimes use heat/fire or a blowlamp in making stripping stuff.

I got them after I set fire to the workshop floor paint stripping. A burning bit fell and ignited all the bits lying on the floor and the whole lot caught pretty quick(old oil bases, shellac type of finishes)

I keep one extinguisher in the bottom drawer of the bedside unit as well as a smoke hood.

No fire extinguishers, but I did get an escape (rope) ladder for the top floor when we lived in a 3 storey terrace.

No fire extinguishers but do have a sprinkler system linked to separate water tank (new build in Wales)

Have wondered about ladders upstairs

The house was extremely difficult to navigate, i could not find my keys

I was ideally googling residential fire suppression systems the other day, they didn’t really seem to be a thing which surprised me!

Its my job.
In a (Rich) domestic application, you may have a wet chemical fixed system in the kitchen, covering the cooker Hood/appliances, such as Ansul R102 or Nobel.

Some properties may have HSSD, basically a sniffer system piped back to a laser unit giving early warning.

You can get domestic sprinkler systems but not my field.

Any fixed gaseous suppression system would be bad for the occupants, although designed so the concentration levels on discharge are designed to leave enough oxygen to breathe, you really wouldn't want to be in the risk during a discharge. Also to be effective, you really need a sealed enclosure.
It would also be impractical to flood an entire dwelling. Would need a lot of agent.

We have a fire blanket, smoke and CO detectors.
Upstairs escape plan (not a huge plan in a two bed semi) and external doors kept easy to open from the inside.

Garage, I tend to have a 2kg co2 ready to go if I'm doing any welding or similar.

Five Nest smoke alarms, half a dozen fire extinguishers (most from work when we downsized our building) and a couple of fire blankets.

I keep one extinguisher in the bottom drawer of the bedside unit as well as a smoke hood.

I keep meaning to get some smoke hoods...

One in the kitchen plus a fire blanket and another extinguisher in the car. All salvaged from various properties my old company bought.

Was staying with the out-laws over Chrimbo and was perturbed to see him locking the front door and carefully placing the key in a drawer in the kitchen

Scary, I always make a point of leaving keys in each exit door when we have visitors, although with young kids visiting I check with the in-laws incase anyone gets confused and goes walkabout...

We have dry powder in the kitchen as that's where something is more likely to start. Vague plan of how to get out if the stairs are a no go and all downstairs doors get shut at night.

Actually astonished at how many folk are so dismissive of them. Couldn't happen to you eh?

Those that have dry powder, have you ever discharged one in a confined area?

Yes, it put the fire out and although the taste was a bit minging it did the job fine and nobody died.

zilog6128

because you’ve locked yourself in? Madness, surely!

The keys (and torch) were somewhere I thought would be easily found, turns out it wasn't so easy!

ratherbeintobago
Full Member
Surely the STW forum solution would be a halon drench system?

HiFog watermist is more funner , and more environmentally friendly.

No fire extinguishers in our house, I've done firefighting training but the family haven't, so if there's ever a fire we would get out, shut the doors, call the fire brigade.
Fire detectors throughout the house, and all doors kept closed at night.

Another firefighter here. No extinguishers here either as they are useless on all but the smallest fires. Most important thing is to close all doors at night, have an escape route, key in door to get out and once all that is done and you are out.....insurance.
Boggles my mind the amount of fires I've been at with a gutted house and the occupiers standing outside saying they have no insurance.

Did hear a story, possibly urban myth, about a fire in a data storage facility in the US where since it was electrical a dry powder extinguisher did the job of putting it out but in the process wrecked every other computer in the room with the powder particles.

We've 3 in our place... 1 in kitchen and utility, and 1 in garage..

Having seen my OH panic in her house with a grill pan fire that THANKFULLY I was in her place at the time and put out with a wet tea towel, i went and bought a few for her, and moved them across when we moved...
Watching the little pan fire grown and grow, I genuinely think it would have been a full kitchen fire 3 minutes later .....

I appreciate a dry powder device lasts a few seconds, but I think it would have blasted out the pan fire with ease if she had one..

DrP

Got a couple in the shed, powder and a decent size co2 (since that's where i'm most likely to set something on fire, most recently it was my own head but next time it might be something valuable) and a couple of little ones in the house. Also a powder one in each of the cars, though I really don't want to use those.

I don't really subscribe to "not much point", we had a house fire a few years back that I was able to put out using bed blankets to delay it and then water, but it was touch and go, even a small extinguisher would have made that much safer and easier. Especially since there was live electrical around.

In the workplace, sure, it's "use it only if the fire's tiny or if you need it to escape" but in the home, I don't want all my stuff to go on fire

https://dorsetfireprotection.co.uk/still-dry-powder-extinguishers-premises/

How many of you are expecting to have running fuel fires in your home, don't even attempt to put out a gas fire with one either

Interesting Bruneep - especially as all the hospitals I have worked in still have powder extinguishers

Think we (very large NHS trust) have got rid of everything except AFFF and CO2, if I remember correctly from my last fire lecture.

You won’t be able to put out a lithium battery with a fire extinguisher.

Funnily enough I did just that recently. I thought I was drilling into an external disk drive to destroy it, but was actually drilling into an external power supply, which went bang and burst into flames. I grabbed an old car powder extinguisher that was in the garage and put it out fairly effectively. Used the dyson to hoover up the mess, although there were bits of battery casing embedded in the garage ceiling.

Fire blankets are a bit of a debatable issue, a firefighter friend is really against them, having seen people with horrendous burns after trying to use them on chip pans and accidentally knocking the pan over. His view is that you can always buy a new kitchen, not so easy to buy new arms, best to leave that type of fire to the professionals.

Funnily enough I did just that recently. I thought I was drilling into an external disk drive to destroy it, but was actually drilling into an external power supply

forgetting everything else .....

how the hell did you manage that.....

bruneep
Full Member

How many of you are expecting to have running fuel fires in your home, don’t even attempt to put out a gas fire with one either

Thanks for this, what do you make of the "all fires" liquid type?

Example https://www.screwfix.com/p/firexo-all-fires-fire-extinguisher-2ltr/186pg

Or would CO2 (or something else) be better?

We have interlinked smoke alarms - and a healthy dose of get out the house.

This is based on our experience two years ago when a faulty cooks blowtorch (still in flame quietly) was put on 'the' shelf. Which also contained our camping stoves, meths, gas canisters, matches, lighters, firelighters, cotton wool, vaseline....Made even worse when the first two fire officers comprised a neighbour and fellow STW'er.

The cupboard contained most of the explosion and flames - and we were moments away from losing the whole house.

I see plenty of FS people already commented and instructive too that almost consistently they don't have them.

My 2p, having done the fire safety training at work a few times at work is that it's one thing having them (noting the above) but can you actually use them safely. Not just on the right fire, and not thinking about tackling about out of control infernos, I mean have you ever actually discharged one? Do you know where to aim the jet/powder to make it work, because different extinguishers have different targets. Know how loud one is.... you won't drop it in fright? and so on.

I can't recommend highly enough getting the local FS to come and talk to you about prevention, and also fire plans / escape routes, etc. Particularly if you have younger kids. Huge eye opener, way more useful than having 7s of powder shut in a drawer that you have no idea how to use, and they'll gladly do it, they'd far rather spend 30 mins with you preventing than sending firefighters into a burning house because you can't find your kids.

Fire blankets are a bit of a debatable issue, a firefighter friend is really against them, having seen people with horrendous burns after trying to use them on chip pans and accidentally knocking the pan over.

Which also contained our camping stoves, meths, gas canisters, matches, lighters, firelighters, cotton wool, vaseline

Which also contained our camping stoves, meths, gas canisters, matches, lighters, firelighters, cotton wool, vaseline

all ours are in the shed, so if they do ever catch fire, it can just burn to the ground quietly, away from everywhere else....

I have a fireproof cabinet in the workshop for flammable liquids (solvents mainly).

but can you actually use them safely. Not just on the right fire, and not thinking about tackling about out of control infernos, I mean have you ever actually discharged one? Do you know where to aim the jet/powder to make it work, because different extinguishers have different targets. Know how loud one is…. you won’t drop it in fright? and so on.

Yes - in fire training at work we actually discharged them to put out small demo fires.  Water and CO2

surely not stored in the kitchen? 😳

🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈

We just kept bunging little used things in the top, barely reachable shelf...

They are now in the shed.

Kitchen: 6 litre foam and 2kg CO2
Office: 2kg CO2
Garage: 6l foam
Plus notices about which to use

Mind you, when the local helpful fire service guys came to look at my smoke alarms they did say they don’t like homeowners to have extinguishers.
Better to get out.

Plainly common sense is vital here. A small fire could be self extinguished or it’ll then become a big fire and it’s too late. A big fire? Get out fast.

how the hell did you manage that…..

I had a number of external hard drives to dispose of, so I put them in a vice one at a time and drilled through them with an electric drill. An external power source which was with them looked very similar (black box with sockets) and so went in the vice and got drilled (until it blew up)....

Yes – in fire training at work we actually discharged them to put out small demo fires.  Water and CO2

I've given many fire extinguisher training courses in my time. I'm guessing that was in a nice open area with a pleasant breeze removing products of combustion away from you, all your work chums around having a laugh and a giggle.  A fire in your own house a confined space, kitchen, cupboard bedroom etc etc blasting a extinguisher onto it gives a completely different reaction to a wee fire pan outside.  Also be wary of using a CO2 in a confined environment....

I appreciate a dry powder device lasts a few seconds, but I think it would have blasted out the pan fire with ease if she had one..

aye crack on then

Thanks for this, what do you make of the “all fires” liquid type?

Example https://www.screwfix.com/p/firexo-all-fires-fire-extinguisher-2ltr/186pg
/a>

Or would CO2 (or something else) be better?

whats your risk in the home that you feel the need for this? Save your money and spend it on proper detection and reducing any risk

Better than nowt Bruneep surely?  It was outdoors but against an angle in a wall

I wouldn't have bought the extingishers for anything but the stairs and this thread has reminded me to replace it.    3 flats in an attic, offices below with a door to a small staircase to the attic

Get out fast for me means either down the stairs or out on to the roof. Neither a very good option.  My thought was the extinguisher might just make a difference between being able to get down the stairs or having to go out on to the roof

I have also had experience of a bin fire at work.  That had the door shut on it and 999 called - I didn't try to put it out tho it was small and confined.  By the time the fire brigade got there the fire was out which was slightly embarrassing

edit:  Very educational experience on reflection.  I was the boss and despite training and practices I did not get it all right but it did give me some insight.  I am also trained generically how to react to emergencies and still did not get it all right so I agree with your general point.

Better than nowt Bruneep surely?

He's always very argumentative on these threads - just ignore him...

Genuine question not just being argumentative.  I feel vulnerable to fire in my flat and this thread is making me think hard about fire safety

Or is the risk that having used one in controlled circumstances may make me over confident?

Genuine question not just being argumentative. 

I meant Bruneep - I get the impression whatever anyone else says (right or wrong) he'll just disagree with it out of principle...

Best thing I learned from offshore suvival is on discovering a fire, raise the alarm and GTFO. No way would I tackle a fire at home. I also still remember doing the course when you had to navigate a confined room with an actual fire burning in it. I'm getting out as quickly as possible and let the professionals deal with it.

I meant Bruneep – I get the impression whatever anyone else says (right or wrong) he’ll just disagree with it out of principle…

me?

Just giving my wise wisdom  and expertise of 30yrs in fire service, but clearly that counts for nothing and  those who have never ever had to tackle a fire within a confined environment know better. People have  some wonderful ideas of squirting an inappropriate extinguisher at a fire and all will be well.  I'll bow out to their superior knowledge and wisdom.

bruneep

whats your risk in the home that you feel the need for this? Save your money and spend it on proper detection and reducing any risk

I had an electrical fire over night before christmas which I was luckily able to extinguish due to early detection (smoke alarms).

It scared me that our exit routes could become blocked, also I had no easy means to put out the fire (i used some bath towels to smother it which happened to be nearby waiting to be washed).

Therefore I want fire extinguishers:

1. kept downstairs to extinguish small fires caught early by smoke alarm, kitchen fires etc
2. to keep upstairs to aid us getting down the stairs and out the front door

(i used some bath towels to smother it which happened to be nearby waiting to be washed).

Am I the only one who sees a potential flaw in this action?

To be clear though I am glad nothing actually happened to you or your family.

gonefishin

Am I the only one who sees a potential flaw in this action?

What's that?

Bruneep - which is why I asked you questions and tried to explain my situation.

Thinking about this, I should really get a fire blanket for the lounge as it has a woodburner. There's carpet once you move away from the fireplace.

Pretty cheap on amazon, are they all the same?

Bath towels are generally wet. Water and electricity is a bad combination.

Bruneep – which is why I asked you questions and tried to explain my situation.

I'd be asking  footflaps

gonefishin
Free Member

Bath towels are generally wet. Water and electricity is a bad combination.

Oh, lol- good point! Yeah I checked the power was definitely off first!

I don't have any pictures of the damage to the house, but here is what went up. It was an Inkbird temperature controller. Mine was being used on my aquarium (yes it was kept absolutely bone dry), but they're also used for brewing, and that sort of thing.

My guess was a relay failed in it and overheated, as I remember hearing it click unusually loudly a night or two before it went up.

I feel vulnerable to fire in my flat and this thread is making me think hard about fire safety

Then ask the FS to come and give you some free advice.

Actually astonished at how many folk are so dismissive of them. Couldn’t happen to you eh?

I'm pretty dismissive of them.  I've used both a CO2 and a Powder in anger and cannot imagine a situation in my own home where I would discover (or be alerted to) a fire, go and get the extinguisher (it will never be in the ideal place for that fire), and fight the fire rather than alerting everyone else in the house, calling the fire brigade and getting out.  Using an extinguisher first seems the wrong sequence of events.

@multi21 - did you call the F/B or evacuate the family in your recent incident?

The twice I have used an extinguisher for real were (1) in a university chemistry lab; there were several of us - small solvent fire.  I put the fire out whilst others initiated the evacuation etc.  The fire was out by the time all the students (~70) were out the lab, but there were extinguishers within about 3 paces of the fire, multiple exits etc - the fire was probably actually out before the 999 call was complete but I don't think anyone felt a moment of embarrassment nor did the fire brigade imply delaying evening 60s was a good idea.  (2) a dry powder extinguisher outdoors, when I'd been doing something stupid and knew it might catch fire so had got an extinguisher out garage especially - I haven't replaced it.  @tj - I cannot imagine using one in a confined stairwell would aid your escape unless something really peculiar like a waste paper bin on the landing.  If the stair is on fire it will either be too much for the extinguisher, the smoke waiting for you to find the extinguisher at the top, or so small that you don't need to put it out to escape and discharging it will make your breathing and vision worse.

If I had a welder at home or did other "hot" stuff like that I'd have one near the welder.  A fire blanket might make sense in the kitchen but I have accidentally set fire to tea towels/oven gloves in the past and my immediate reaction was to put them out by dropping in the sink/pouring water on them.  I'm not sure my first instinct would be to get the blank out.

So no - its not I don't think it will happen to me.  Its because I've thought about it that I am confident that it adds nothing (and might lead me or another family member to a bad decision) that I dismiss them. In terms of the OP probably more to be gained from thinking about how/where you charge stuff and making sure if it does overheat the ability to spread is limited than hoping you can get to an extinguisher and contain it.

My guess was a relay failed in it and overheated, as I remember hearing it click unusually loudly a night or two before it went up.

@tj – I cannot imagine using one in a confined stairwell would aid your escape unless something really peculiar like a waste paper bin on the landing.

There is a locked door at the bottom of the stair attic stair ( which I have reversed so it can be kicked out).  My thought was something like burning paper thru the letter box. An extinguisher might just put it out and allow escape rather than heading out onto the roof and letting thre fire get hold

Like with first aid kits when MTBing - its a very small subset of situations where it might help.  But I am listening and learning

poly

I’m pretty dismissive of them. I’ve used both a CO2 and a Powder in anger and cannot imagine a situation in my own home where I would discover (or be alerted to) a fire, go and get the extinguisher (it will never be in the ideal place for that fire), and fight the fire rather than alerting everyone else in the house, calling the fire brigade and getting out. Using an extinguisher first seems the wrong sequence of events.

@multi21 – did you call the F/B or evacuate the family in your recent incident?

No to be honest I just ran downstairs on autopilot to see what had set the smoke alarm off. My first thought was that it was just the baby bottle steriliser had been switched on without the water being topped up. Wasn't until I got into the lounge i saw the thick smoke and flames licking up the aquarium cabinet and realised that it was a real fire.

zilog6128

wow, never seen that before (a fire actually starting and the device being totally destroyed!) I know those Inkbirds are really popular. I have loads of smart devices with relays (not Inkbirds), one I did overload by foolishly plugging a 3kw heater into it, it didn’t’ set on fire though (just overheated & some magic smoke came out!)

Yes they are very popular, and I've posted/searched on loads of forums, can't find a single other instance of one catching on fire. It only had a 200w heater hanging off it so wasn't overloaded.

I was 🤏 this close to getting rid of the aquarium afterwards but the thing is, it could have been anything that went up. Phone charger, NAS, fridge, TV on standby, smart plugs, router, smart heating controller etc.
We trust these all things but it only takes a small component to fail or a bad solder at the factory etc to cause a fire down the line.