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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/nablaCat on 2026-06-30 11:16:55+00:00.

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I may not have a job tomorrow :/

I work at a convenience store where I close up each night at 12 am, then finish up cleaning for about half an hour or so afterward.

We have a large fire extinguisher that's about 2 feet tall, 10 inches in diameter, and 15 pounds (these are rough estimates). This extinguisher contains - as I have learned in the most spectacular way possible - a yellow powder.

We leave this extinguisher on a window sill by the back door of the store. This extinguisher is not held in place by mounting brackets, which will become relevant shortly.

. . .

Before I did the final sweep and mop for the night, I rolled up the carpet mats at the front and back doors of the store. I placed the rolled up mat that was in front of the front door in the window sill by the front door. I placed the rolled-up mat that was in front of the back door in the window sill by the back door... next to the fire extinguisher.

After I finished mopping and sweeping, I was almost ready to leave. All that was left for me to do was place the mats back down, turn off the lights over the counter, clock out, set the alarm, and padlock the doors after exiting the building.

When I pulled the back mat off of the back window sill, it knocked against the fire extinguisher. The extinguisher fell off the sill, flipped upside-down, and all 15-or-so pounds slammed directly on its head, where the valve was located.

I hear a loud PSHHHHH sound coming from where the extinguisher landed, and what proceeded was a Michael Bay style explosion cloud of powder rushing toward me.

I ran toward the front door cause I didn't wanna breathe all of that in. I was surrounded by the cloud. I left the store and looked back.

The cloud had completely enveloped the inside of the store in a thick haze, so I stayed outside for about 5 minutes to wait for the powder to settle. Once I could see the inside better, I walked in to witness the carnage.

I was immediately met with a pungent smell, and the inside of the store looked like a chemical winter-wonderland. Powder was F**KING EVERYWHERE. It was on the bags, it was on the ATM, it was on the hot-dog roller, it was on the card readers, it was on the counters, and it was even on the FU**KING CEILING. The floors had a thick coat of powder. Near the back of the store, the powder was about a quarter inch thick, and the back wall and door had mounds of yellow powder.

I couldn't breathe in there, so I left the store again and called my manager. To paraphrase what was ultimately a frantic sleep-deprived conversation between us: I told her there was a thick layer of extinguisher powder throughout the back-half of the store, then she told me to "clean it up."

. . .

Here's the issue. I've been regularly staying over between 15 minutes and an hour completing my closing checklist, which includes, but is not limited to, stocking the coolers, cleaning the pans, cleaning the bathroom, and taking out the trash. My manager has been upset with me because we really aren't supposed to get overtime unless approved ahead of time.

"Clean it up" entailed another 4 hours of cleaning, at least, which would be unacceptable, especially given how much time I've already stayed over this week.

. . .

So, instead, I spent an hour and a half shoving powder out the back door, remopping the floor, and wiping down the surfaces struck hardest by the catastrophe.

I spent the first 30 minutes of cleaning holding my breath then rushing outside to get a clean breath of air. After I got most of the powder off the floor, I could begin to breathe inside the store again without coughing.

I'm gonna keep it real with you guys. By the time I finally clocked out, the store still looked like utter abysmal dogshit. There was still powder everywhere, and there were streaks of powder on the doors, windows, and floor that I couldn't quite wipe/mop clean. It even still reeked of that pungent extinguisher smell, but at least it was breathable and walkable.

Goodness bless the morning shift workers who come in after me. They're gonna be greeted with an apocalypse when they open up.

Everyone's gonna be pissed at me, but I just hope that I can keep my job. I can make it up to them

TL;DR: I knocked over a fire extinguisher at work, it exploded, and I couldn't stay to clean it all up.