We were staying at this beautiful cabin on Lake Kegonsa, not terribly far from Madison, Wisconsin. Beautiful log cabin, two stories, 3 bedrooms, and a very large wrap around deck. On that deck is a gas grill which was perfect for grilling out some brats. Or so we thought.
One morning we all went to the beach at Lake Kegonsa, and I decided to make our brats on the grill for lunch. I lit the grill and noticed the flame was weak. It was like an enormous candle flame, not a gas grill. I figured I'd leave the brats on for a few minutes and if it doesn't heat up, cook them on the stove.
I closed the lid and went inside for a bit. When I came back out, the entire grill was in flames. The seemed to come from underneath, just above the gas tank. I began thinking the whole thing would explode. I grabbed a towel to try to turn the burner off, and the knob melted off into the towel. I turned off what was left of the knob but the fire kept burning. Molly found the fire extinguisher and gave it to me. I let loose. It took the entire can to put out the flames.
But I could hear the gas still flowing. So I had to grab more towels to keep my hand and arm from burning as I turned off the metal valve on the top of the gas tank. Flames out, gas off, I could take a minute to breathe again. I looked around and realized how fast that whole deck and wood cabin could have caught fire.
So we decided we would rather go out to eat. Short video telling the story here.