Snooze2978

It was my own fault when I left the non auto-off iron on for 2 days. Hadn't noticed it. Turned it off, didn't use it for the rest of the week until the following Monday. Turned it on and once it was hot enough I started to press some fabrics when it caught fire right where the cord goes into the iron itself. Startled me at 1st then I went into motion, unplugged the darn thing and ran it over to the metal sink. Of course before I went into action it had sparked some cinders onto my brand new silver fabric cover on my pression station but at least it didn't catch fire. Now I have a surge protector plugged into the wall and that's how I turn the iron on and off as I'll notice the light more readily than on the iron itself.

Barb in Louisiana

One of mine starting smoking. I pulled the plug quickly and carried it outside. Threw it in the garbage after it quit smoking and cooled down. Learned that I need to turn the power off to the iron or unplug it when I left the sewing room to potentially prevent a house fire. I don't even remember what brand the iron was. Most of mine just die....won't get hot.

Stillh20

I have my iron plugged into a power bar along with the light. I was ironing one morning and a flame started shooting out where the cord attached to the iron scared me to death. But all I had to do was reach down and switch off the power bar, flame immediately went away. To say the least the iron went into the trash. I always have a light on when I am ironing, that way when I leave the room I make one last check that every thing is off by just looking into the room.

ClairVoyantQuilter

Every home should have a fire extinguisher and if you’re that worried about it, one in your sewing room. It will give you peace of mind so you can focus on making quilts and not something that will mos likely never happen to you.

Lurcherlady

I sew in a cabin which is fitted with a wood burner, a few years ago it caught fire. Didn't entirely destroy everything but stuff was very badly smoke damaged. I'm now paranoid about the risks and double check everything is turned off. I also have a webcam and baby monitor (because it's separate from the house).

there are fire extinguishers in the house and cabin, just in case. Make sure you get the right one, I'm not sure about elsewhere, but in the UK they suggest powder because it covers class A, B and C fires. I also have a blanket in the kitchen.

you can't be too careful and it's best to be prepared.

toverly

I had the little grey Rowenta sputter and have an electrical burn smell. I simply unplugged, let it cool, cut off the cord and tossed. I felt like the cord needed to be cut to keep someone from salvaging it and possibly having a fire.