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As the flames were reaching their maximum height, the toaster abruptly stopped making buzzing noises. We speculate that the flames had by this point shorted the electronics within the toaster. The toaster was quickly disconnected from the primary electrical source to avoid any potential damage to the author's house. At this point, the researchers also realized that the heat could inadvertently melt the adhesive cellophane and cause the flaming SPTs to suddenly eject from the toaster. Unfortunately, this did not occur. The flames continued for several minutes.

At this point there was some slight concern that the flames might take considerable time to diminish. We then enlisted the help of a reluctant research assistant to sprinkle baking soda on the flames. (The reluctance was understandable given the potential for premature SPT ejection described in the above paragraph.) The baking soda quickly extinguished the flames and produced still further smoke (Figure 5a).