[stylist] Christmas submission - Christmas fire safety
Brenda
bjnite at windstream.net
Thu Dec 15 18:41:39 UTC 2011
Hi List
Below is my submission for this list and for my company
newsletter. I feel it is an important topic. It is an article rather
than a story so there isn't dialogue. Thunderbird keeps crashing so
hopefully the spaces after periods will stay put. I have also attached
it as a word 2003 document.
Brenda
Christmas Fire Safety
The holiday season is upon us, and church bells and carolers can be
heard.The TV news reports mall Santas and good Samaritans spreading good
cheer.If you listen closely, you can also hear the sound of sirens as
fire trucks head to a house fire.Often it is a Christmas tree or space
heater that has caused the fire.The fire could also be caused by a
cooking mishap.
A little over a year ago we were eating at Pizza hut.As we were leaving,
we saw thick black smoke filling the sky and screaming sirens filled the
air.We learned later a lady was preparing something on the stove.She
left the room to help her granddaughter with some homework.When she
returned to the kitchen, it was engulfed in flames.No human life was
lost, but they lost the house and one cat.How could this woman be so
careless?
It is easy to say never leave a skillet unattended, but it can happen.A
year after the grandmother lost her home, it happened to me.
Two weeks before Thanksgiving this year, I was cooking dinner for my
husband who would be home within an hour.The plates were on the counter,
and mayo was spread on his bun.The tomato, lettuce, cheese and bacon
were lined up ready to put on the chicken sandwiches.Checking the time,
I started heating the grease for the French fries. As the grease was
heating up on the stove, I went to the restroom, put hand lotion on my
hands ...
When I finally remembered the grease was heating, I ran to the kitchen
to see flames lunging toward the hood above the burner.Placing a lid on
the fire might extinguish it, but the lids were in the cupboard under
the burners, and I was afraid to get close enough to retrieve one.The
fire extinguisher was on a shelf across the room but I didn't know how
to use it.Baking soda, flour and salt were other options, but I couldn't
remember which would put the fire out and which would make it worse.I
decided to put the flaming skillet in the sink and hoped that being away
from the heat and other flammable objects the fire would subside.If it
didn't, I could always turn on the water.
Smoke filled the room and the bleating of the smoke detectors pierced my
ears.The phone rang and as the man from our security company identified
himself I yelled that I had a kitchen fire and needed help.
Flames started to lick the cupboards around the window.The tension
curtain rod slid down and the ruffled curtain burst into flames making
it impossible to reach the faucet.I did not hear any sirens and knew if
they didn't arrive soon it would be too late.Water is not a good choice
for putting out a grease fire, but I was not going to let my home burn
down without a fight.Fumbling in a cupboard I grabbed the biggest pot I
could find and ran upstairs to the bathroom sink.Returning with a filled
pot of water, I threw it on the fire and ran upstairs for more
water.After several trips, the flames disappeared leaving a house filled
with smoke and still no fire trucks.
The firemen finally arrived, treated my burned hands and sucked the
smoke out with their industrial fan.They warned me they might have to
chop wholes in the walls to make sure there was no fire, but that was
not necessary.Shortly after they left, my husband came home from
work.The whole thing took maybe 30 minutes.
Along with the arrival of the fireman came the neighbors.The lady next
door remarked "The fire wasn't because you are almost blind, you were
just stupid."She proceeded to tell me about how her daughter who is a
nurse put freshly starched jeans in the oven to dry them.When the jeans
burst into flames, the daughter tried to carry them outside setting her
son's pajamas on fire and destroying her kitchen floor.She was able to
rip the PJ's off her son before he was seriously burned.Three days after
my fire, another neighbor's nephew lost his home as a result of his son
lighting something on fire in the garage.Thinking he had put the fire
out, the little boy threw the charred paper in the trash and went in the
house.It wasn't long before the family dog alerted everyone to the
smoke, and they escaped before the house burned to the ground.Another
neighbor reminded me of a Christmas fire a few years ago where the
family cat had knocked over a grow light.The family lost everything
shortly before Christmas.
When the team from the fire restoration company saw my kitchen, they
told me I was very lucky.God was surely looking out for me.I did have
minor burns on my hands, and we had to stay in a hotel for 10 days while
the smoke damage was repaired, but we were home before Thanksgiving.
This Christmas season, take a few minutes to think about fire safety.You
may be the most careful person in the world, but fires can still
happen.Pay attention and don't leave a room with something on the stove.
Consider how easily pets can knock over lights and candles.Never leave
matches or igniters where a child can find them.Finally, wrap up two
fire extinguishers and put them under the tree.Practice putting out a
controlled fire with one and put the other one where it is easily
reachable in case it is needed to put out a fire.
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