I had just checked in at the gym the other night, and was hanging out with the girls at the front desk before heading to the locker room, when a woman came trotting out from one of the Cardio Rooms

"Um, excuse me. Sorry. There's a treadmill on fire!"

My first thought was 'Jeez, how fast were you running?' but clearly this was no speedster

Also, it wasn't a case of a belt being too tight and smoking from the friction

Apparently, something in the bottom, at or near the motor had shorted out, and was sparking & burning the wires. Merely popping the kill switch, stopping the treadmill from running didn't help, either; it didn't stop smoking until the plug was pulled from the wall, completely shutting off the power

Needless to say, that room & hallway smelled awful for the rest of the evening [I used a different Cardio Room, as you would expect]

Has anyone else experienced such a thing?

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin