# Fire due to Orville Redenbacher popcorn *warning*



## Marty (May 3, 2012)

We've been using Orville Redenbacher popcorn for years and never a problem until today. My microwave caught on fire while popping the popcorn Flames and smoke all over my newly painted kitchen. Terrific. Thinking something was wrong with the microwave as its old, I checked it out and so did Hus and we couldn't figure it out. I decided to report t his incident it to them just in case at ConAgra Foods. They took down all my information, the box # and scanning codes, things like that. They requested that I send them the remains of the bag in a container they will provide for me. And oh, they are sorry and will send me out some coupons to buy more popcorn. I'd rather not purchase any more of their popcorn coupons or not. Now I need a new microwave and my kitchen ceiling repainted.. Darn.

I decided to google the subject just to see if this has ever happened to anyone else and sure enough, I found quite a few reports of microwave fires due to Orville Redenbacher going back the past few years. Guess it was my turn.

This has been a public service announcement.


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## Carolyn R (May 4, 2012)

That is very interesting. We tend to use our microwave like a breadbox when not in use. We may put an open loaf of bread, a pack of open cookies, a fruit pie, just to keep the stuff off the counters. I have noticed that microwave popcorn in general, gets the interior very hot. So hot that once the popcorn is removed from the microwave, the glass plate is hot enough to melt plastic, not a little, but quite a bit. I could deffinately see how it could catch fire. Glad it was contained to your microwave and not any worse.


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## Sonya (May 4, 2012)

we use that popcorn at work all the time, it's in the vending machine....this gives me an idea...lol, just kidding.


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## Danielle_E. (May 4, 2012)

Marty, you should be contacting the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. They are the ones that incidents such as these should be reported to as well as any other incidents for any other problems with consumer products.


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## Lizzie (May 4, 2012)

A little something to add to this. When I was stricken with colon cancer, the first thing the doc asked me, was "Do you eat popcorn?"

He said nobody should eat it. Leads to colon blockages and worse. In fact, he also said no corn of any kind.

Lizzie


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## Marty (May 4, 2012)

Oh nuts Dani I didn't know.

Lizzie......oh crap. We eat it by the tons!


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## Sonya (May 4, 2012)

Alot of corn/seeds can lead to many intestinal issues.....colitis/diverticulitis, etc.... I do not each much popcorn, maybe a bag once every couple months. I did notice that with the Orville if you cook it as directed (even on lowest setting of micro) it will burn.


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## Nathan Luszcz (May 4, 2012)

All microwave popcorn can be deadly, that's why they tell you to watch it closely and not walk away. Very glad you were ok!


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## ozymandias (May 4, 2012)

Oh wow, so sorry to hear you have a blackened ceiling. Happy on the flip side that it wasn't any worse. I'd be calling OR's they should be paying for your smoke damage if you followed directions.


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## Charley (May 4, 2012)

I had a different brand start a fire a few months ago. Luckily, I was watching and turned the microwave off. No damage to the microwave or the kitchen, just to the bag and popcorn. Sorry that you weren't as fortunate.

I had baked some potatoes in there the previous day and know that I melted some butter in them just for a few seconds. I wondered if there might have been some butter residue left on the microwave glass plate that had contributed to it as I had never heard of microwave popcorn catching on fire.


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## vickie gee (May 4, 2012)

Way back when micro wave popcorn came out a co-worker was popping some and it caught on fire. She panicked and put the bag in refrigerator and closed the refrigerator door. Luckily others got it out of the refrigerator and put out the fire before a bad situation got worse.


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## Jill (May 6, 2012)

I had no idea. We sometimes do eat microwave popcorn. Until a couple years ago, my mom thought you were supposed to cook it with the plastic bag still on


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## tagalong (May 6, 2012)

> All microwave popcorn can be deadly, that's why they tell you to watch it closely and not walk away. Very glad you were ok!


 

I am glad that you were okay as well, Marty!! That must have been frightening...

 

Right on the bag (no matter what brand) they tell you that times are only approximate and that your microwave made need less - or more - time. They also always say that you need to stand there and wait and listen for the popping to slow down... I have found that my old microwave seems to now be having irregular heat issues and I have to pay closer attention. I have NEVER used the "popcorn" button on the microwave.

 

I remember a few years ago, someone sued OR - or maybe another brand - because they took the bag out of the microwave and immediately ripped it open with their eyes an inch or two away - and the steam/heat affected their vision for a while. In that case, common sense was no where in sight. Literally.


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## Field-of-Dreams (May 11, 2012)

Mine did this LAST NIGHT! Didn't torch the house, just scorched a big hole in the bag!





Yup, it was OR, too.


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## lil hoofbeats (May 14, 2012)

> I remember a few years ago, someone sued OR - or maybe another brand - because they took the bag out of the microwave and immediately ripped it open with their eyes an inch or two away - and the steam/heat affected their vision for a while. In that case, common sense was no where in sight. Literally.


LMAO!!!!!!

First of all, let me be the first to say that I am completely domestically challenged , however If you cant microwave popcorn, you really have no business in the kitchen.



> All microwave popcorn can be deadly, that's why they tell you to watch it closely and not walk away.


I always knew i owed a death, but dang.....death by microwave popcorn?????

What scares me more is....the same people that cannot properly microwave popcorn, could possibly be the same people operating a gas grill or gas stove top, and using knives.


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## markadoodle (May 14, 2012)

Marty said:


> We've been using Orville Redenbacher popcorn for years and never a problem until today. My microwave caught on fire while popping the popcorn Flames and smoke all over my newly painted kitchen. Terrific. Thinking something was wrong with the microwave as its old, I checked it out and so did Hus and we couldn't figure it out. I decided to report t his incident it to them just in case at ConAgra Foods. They took down all my information, the box # and scanning codes, things like that. They requested that I send them the remains of the bag in a container they will provide for me. And oh, they are sorry and will send me out some coupons to buy more popcorn. I'd rather not purchase any more of their popcorn coupons or not. Now I need a new microwave and my kitchen ceiling repainted.. Darn.
> 
> I decided to google the subject just to see if this has ever happened to anyone else and sure enough, I found quite a few reports of microwave fires due to Orville Redenbacher going back the past few years. Guess it was my turn.
> 
> This has been a public service announcement.


Wow, interesting

something similar happened to me back in January, I threw the bag in the microwave, and all was going fine, then when it started popping it only popped one or two kernels and started smoking, I ripped it out of the microwave and as I did the microwave shut off, like it overheated or something, but it's a fairly new microwave, and an hour or so later I used it again to heat up something else and there was no problem. I do believe it was the popcorn. And I honestly think it was Orville Redenbacher's too.

Hmm, odd.


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## Marty (May 15, 2012)

*The good news is that my microwave is alive and working and after a good clean up, we don't have to paint anything after all thank goodness. *

*The other good news is that ConAgra sent me 10 coupons for free stuff....choice of any of their other products, not just popcorn; so I'm going to wait to use them until right before the holidays and load up my shopping cart so we'll have plenty of free fun junk food around. And by the way, Act II popcorn is also made by them. *

*The bad news is that I don't think we'll be popping any more popcorn in the microwave because I'm too worried this will happen again. If I wasn't standing right there, my house could have gone up in flames.*

*I'm not one who gets run over by the same train twice! (Anymore!) LOL*


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## pewilliams1970 (Mar 8, 2020)

I have had pop secret popcorn cause my microwave to catch a fire 2 times in a row. I was watching both times so when the fire started I stopped the microwave. I don’t know what’s going on but I will never pop popcorn in my microwave again. The kernels never popped.


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## Marsha Cassada (Mar 10, 2020)

pewilliams1970 said:


> I have had pop secret popcorn cause my microwave to catch a fire 2 times in a row. I was watching both times so when the fire started I stopped the microwave. I don’t know what’s going on but I will never pop popcorn in my microwave again. The kernels never popped.


There must be some metal in there somewhere?


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## Maryann at MiniV (Mar 10, 2020)

pewilliams1970 said:


> I have had pop secret popcorn cause my microwave to catch a fire 2 times in a row. I was watching both times so when the fire started I stopped the microwave. I don’t know what’s going on but I will never pop popcorn in my microwave again. The kernels never popped.



YIKES! One way around that you could try is transfer the popcorn into a small paper bag (taped close) and press that popcorn button on the microwave.


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