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HANNIBAL, MO. -- You've heard stories that you're supposed to unplug appliances when you're not using them because they use electricity when even when they are off.

There may be another reason to unplug those devices.

Debbie Logue and her husband awoke in the middle of the night several weeks ago to the smell of smoke.

"Something electrical was burning," Logue said,

The Logues immediately got up and searched the house.

"We could tell it was coming from the kitchen," Logue said.

So, they checked all the appliances.

"When we got to the toaster, we went to touch it and it was extremely hot," she said. "If we had not been here, or he hadn't woke up, the entire kitchen could''ve caught on fire. It was pretty scary."

They immediately unplugged it and waited for it to cool down before going back to bed. Once the morning rolled around, Debbie's husband called the company that makes the Paula Deen Back to Basics toaster. The Logues got the impression this wasn't the company's first call about this. The company told the Logues to always unplug their toaster when it's not in use.

The same can be said for your can opener. The reason, both appliances rely on springs, to pop up your toast, and over time those springs can wear down and sag causing the appliance to turn on by itself.

John Baker, training officer for the Hannibal Fire Department said that instances like this are extremely rare. If the thought leaves you uneasy, it certainly doesn't hurt to unplug your toaster. For the Logues, it took one close call for them to decide what to do.

"I think there are toasters with an on off switch, but if they don't, obviously that appliance is always energized when it's plugged in, so the potential is there," he said.

One more tip, if you do decide to leave your toaster plugged in, keep it away for paper or cabinets, because in the event the appliance would heat up, a fire could spread quickly by heating up the papers.

The company that makes this particular toaster offered the Logues a free replacement, but they don't think they are going to accept it. They say they are done toasting things for awhile.