Microwave Popcorn

I was cooking popcorn in the microwave the other day at work. We have an old-school heavy duty industrial microwave that cooks a bag of popcorn in 30 seconds. I turned the dial and started to watch the popcorn since there isn’t a timer on the microwave. I was distracted and went into the lab to help a technician. A few minutes later I recognized the rank smell of burned popcorn. I ran to the microwave to try to salvage my popcorn but it was too late. A small thread of black smoke escaped from the microwave door when I opened it. In normal conditions, this wouldn’t have been a big deal, right? Throw away the burned popcorn then end of story. Well, in the propulsion industry, where I work, fire is a serious concern. A small flame from a match or cigarette lighter could be fatal. Even ignition from static energy is a big concern. Every room on plant has highly sensitive smoke detectors that immediately alert one of two fire departments on plant. Before I could close the microwave door, blaring alarms started sounding and the whole fire department arrived at my lab prepared for an explosion. How embarrassing! All because of my burned popcorn. The fire department teased me unceasingly about my cooking skills. Oh well, at least the fire department got some entertainment for the day! Hazmat was then called for a nuclear fallout analysis. . .