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Air fryers have become quite the thing of late: these countertop appliances can cook frozen foods, vegetables and meat. Because air fryers use little to no oil, they’re a much healthier option than traditional deep-frying. But as popular as they are, they don’t come without risk – as one American family discovered.
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The Jermyn family from Jacksonville in the United States had a close call when their air fryer caught alight. Had it not been for the quick thinking of their four-year-old daughter, their entire kitchen could have gone up in flames.
Now the bright spark has been praised as a heroine by her proud family. It all started when Amelia noticed a fire in the kitchen and ran to alert her father. In video footage captured from the family’s CCTV cameras, the little girl is seen dancing around the house in her tutu while the popular children’s film Frozen plays in the background. When she notices a flame, she goes to inspect it. “Fire! Oh no! Dad is going to kill me,” she says, putting her hands on her head. She then says, “Think, think.”
The tutu-wearing toddler then runs to get her father, Daniel, who is busy brushing his teeth in the bathroom. Panicked by the smoke and flame, Daniel frantically searches for the fire extinguisher. When he can’t find it, he unplugs the blazing air fryer and runs outside, stumbling over the family dogs, before tossing the molten appliance into the swimming pool.
Daniel, who burnt his feet trying to protect the dogs from the melting plastic, says he had no other option but to get rid of the air fryer. “I couldn’t comprehend it, you know what I mean? As soon as you see it, you think there’s no way this is going on right now, and I look and the air fryer is on fire.”
Daniel, who had cooked nuggets and French fries for Amelia 30 minutes before the fire, said he left the device in the plug, but the outlet was off.
“If Amelia had not come and got me and I had not paid attention to her, probably one or two more minutes, we would have lost the kitchen, at least the kitchen,” he says.“It was pretty close.”
Check out the video of Amelia in action:
- A lot of people prefer not to read instruction manuals but please do.
- Clean the air fryer after each use to prevent oil building up that might later lead to a fire.
- Wait at least 30 minutes before you clean it so you don’t end up burning yourself.
- Air fryers use little to no oil so try not to overdo it with the oil.
- Put the air fryer in an area that has good air circulation.
- Always unplug it once you are done using it.
- Use a timer when making use of the device.
- For easy clean, soak the basket and racks in soapy water.
SOURCES: AIRFRYERWORLD.COM, INSIDEEDITION.COM, NEWS4JAX.COM, USATODAY.COM, GEARPATROL.COM, TASTEOFHOME.COM
