I often read about making cheese sandwiches in the toaster by turning it on it’s side to keep the cheese in place. It wasn’t exactly a cheese sandwich, but was something that should bake in the oven. In my small space, my oven is used for storage, so the toaster looked attractive. The resulting story is not whether it worked for the food toasted, but rather the side effect. All those little crumbs which normally lie dormant in the bottom of the toaster, sprang to life, attached themselves to the hot coils and promptly caught fire. The fire was large enough for more crumbs to jump in. I set the toaster in its upright position, at the same time unplugging the cord from the outlet. Neither of these actions stopped the burning. The fire about half way up the inside of the toaster walls, continued to burn with seriousness. The next move was to put a towel over the two bread slots to cut down on the oxygen and with some reluctance the fire went out. None of the articles I read mentioned this side-effect.