The worst accident happened in 1990, when an oxygen generator on board the Russian Mir space station malfunctioned and was set ablaze. So at 4:55 p.m., Tuesday, inside an insulated container on a ship miles above the Earth, NASA began the largest intentional fire ever set in space. (NASA Glenn Research Center)What happens when a fire starts in space? The NASA Glenn Research Center describes how the Saffire experiment is conducted. The fire eventually consumed the entire oxygen canister and burned itself out, but it raised the temperature inside the space station to 100 degrees and filled the air with smoke.

Source: Washington Post June 15, 2016 16:20 UTC