Fourth of July Grease Fire

[BrantS-976]

My wife got me the original Bradley Smoker in August 2011 and it has served me well over the last few years until yesterday. I was smoking brisket and chicken and near the end of my smoke as I was getting ready to empty the cabinet I noticed my temperature guage was at 350. I should've known better but I opened the door to see what was up and suddenly there were flames. Slammed it shut, door seal melted, smothered with a towel, pulled electrical cords and threw water on to finish extinguishing the flames.

Good news is I didn't burn my deck down and I noticed it soon enough that the meat was still quite edible. Now I just need to make some repairs before I can smoke again. I found a whole replacement door on Yard and Pool. Does anyone know if you can buy just the replacement seal? My drip tray was clean and there was water in the pan. Post fire analysis revealed by drip tray was kind of warped. Maybe grease was running in wrong direction and on to heating element?

Will also have to see if electric components weren't damaged. Just glad the house and food were okay and it didn't ruin our fourth. Still love my Bradley smoker however. The chicken and brisket were awesome.

[GusRobin]

How big was the brisket? Is there a chance it was touching the side or back and allowing grease to go down the wall?

[Fireguy06]

Yard and pool has just the gasket also bought one last November

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi BrantS-976;

Sorry to welcome you to the forum in this manner.

When you purchase the replacement door the magnetic seal comes attached with the door, but the thermometer and bottom hinge is not included. Those you should be able to salvage from your old door. It doesn't come with instructions so the below link may be helpful.

Door Replacement

Do you know what caused the fire?

[BrantS-976]

Thanks for the responses. The brisket was six pounds and some of the excess fat had been trimmed. It was not touching the sides of the cabinet when I put it in. The grease fire occurred near the end of my smoke around the six hour mark and at that point the meat had shrunk considerably. Looking post fire it seems the drip tray may be a bit warped. Maybe the grease wasn't running clear down the center and some made its way onto the heating element or bisquette burner tray? Will be doing a full scrub down of the whole cabinet and while I'm fixing things will likely replace the drip tray and the shield over the heating element (if my model has one). On the plus side, I noticed it before our holiday dinner went up in smoke and both the chicken and the brisket were a big hit. Could've been much worse overall.