"We had the sky, up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made, or only just happened."
~Mark Twain's, Huckleberry Finn
(The New Year is here, most likely the tree has been hauled out and the candles have been lovingly placed in the closet. I shared this almost a year ago and thought this morning, now is a good time for a gentle reminder... To PLEASE make the time for Fire Safety! I am the first to admit that I panicked. My boys, on the other
hand... Good God! Did *I* teach them that? Well, maybe it was their
dad. Give me blood. Give me vomit. Give me a person that needs a good cry... and I will most likely know just what to do. Give
me fire... in my house... with my children present... and my curtains
burning... and obviously, well, obviously I am pleased that it is not MY
name in the papers as the dimwit who burned her family's home down. Lesson learned, alright! Think Before You Act! I wish all my readers a happy, healthy and safe 2012!)
We hear it when we're little, “Stop Drop and Roll”. We heard it, at least
four times a year, as we followed lazily after one another through the school
building, out into either a cold and blustery day or a searingly hot one, “Walk
swiftly and quietly toward your exit boys and girls”. We hear it, even as we
sternly warn our own children, fear gripping our hearts, “Don’t touch that
stove – Don’t play with those matches – Don’t forget, little ones, Mommy and
Daddy will come for you. Stay where you are!”
So why is it, like oil and water, all of the fire safety warnings I’ve filed
away in my brain since childhood simply separated themselves, alongside the
panic rising in my chest, from any of my somewhat-rational, usually dependable
reasoning skills yesterday – sinking to the bottom of the towering inferno I
had mistakenly created in my kitchen.
I stepped out of my kitchen onto our deck, for no more than a few minutes,
after setting a small skillet with roughly a quarter inch of cooking oil on the
burner. It completely slipped my mind that I had already turned on the heat –
as I walked away from it, distracted. This is where my good sense deserted me
completely. Honestly, it is with disgust and shame that I admit here today
to you all, that I did Everything Wrong – Everything I knew I should not have
done. All I know is, the moment I saw flames blazing on my stove top, my fear of
losing Everything took over.
One third of all house fires start in our kitchens, folks – and are
generally caused by something as simple as leaving what you have cooking on the
stove unattended. Those involving grease can be exceptionally volatile.
Now, I have forgotten my keys were in my very hands, as I turned over the
house searching for them – a time or two over the years. I have forgotten to
turn off the water to the barn, thereby watering every moss-covered rock in
creation. (Wish the pony pasture would have been in the way!) I have even
forgotten my age, on occasion – sometimes on purpose. And to answer your
question, no, I do not suffer with excessive memory loss. Hmmmnnn… at least,
I don’t think so. My memory is probably no better or worse than any mother of three children with a small farm, a large mortgage, multiple dogs,
cats, chickens, bunnies, horses and any number of other critters that come and
go to love and manage! I lead a busy life. Don't we all.
This is that moment – the one where I read about someone else’s misfortune
and think, well, I’m more mindful than that, right? I’ve heard all of the warnings. I
know what to do, where to run, where our children are, where our pets are,
where the fire extinguisher is – oh, wait – we DO have a fire extinguisher, right? Maybe I
should locate it and make sure I know how to use it. Eh, maybe tomorrow.
Speaking clearly from the other side of “tomorrow” – this glorious other
side, where my children are safe, I have no more than a few small blisters on
my arms and face, little more than new window curtains to replace, and our home
with all of our treasures and memories still standing – Please Do Not Wait for
Tomorrow!
LOCATE your fire extinguisher!
KEEP it in the kitchen!
KNOW how to use it!
And NEVER, EVER WALK AWAY from oil, in a pan, on the burner!
Not even for a minute! It takes less than ONE to lose EVERYTHING!
And, HERE – is where, what I thought I knew about grease fires,
kicked the butt of what I really knew about grease fires!
MY FIRST MISTAKE.
Instinct, not knowledge – told me to grab the skillet with a hand towel and
walk it slowly through my kitchen and outdoors.
#1 Rule of Grease Fire Safety: NEVER try to move the pan.
This can make a bad situation MUCH worse.
When fire licked at my wrist as I carried the flaming skillet across my
kitchen and hot oil spit into my face, my heart raced, propelling me into
Survival Mode – Throw it into the sink, I thought. My eyes shot upward
then over the kitchen sink at the pretty lace curtains I had just washed not a
week ago, trembling slightly with the billowing cloud of smoke as the flames grew
higher. Panic screamed, WATER! My brain whispered... no.
MY SECOND MISTAKE.
Who knew water would not only NOT put out a grease fire, but it would make
it grow bigger? I didn’t – that’s who. Yes, I had heard that you
should not throw water on a grease fire. I won’t tell you that I thought
it might simply produce gremlins, and only if after midnight. I might say
if you had read my post, "When I Start", that I was going to start my period
tomorrow. But then, that seems a bit smug.
#2 Rule of Grease Fire Safety: NEVER, EVER throw WATER on a GREASE FIRE! It can cause
it to explode and will cause it to throw flaming grease with it!
I panicked, reaching for the faucet and my two boys, ages seventeen and
twelve yelled simultaneously, ‘No!’ I’d like to say thank you to hours of
“Mythbusters” reruns on the Discovery channel Saturday mornings. I would
also like to thank our local volunteer fire department who first showed our children the awesomeness of a fire
hose.
But, it was our oldest son, Will who acted – so fast, in fact, that
I have he alone to thank for saving our home and all that that entails.
The moment the rushing water ignited the flames further toward the curtains,
the cabinets and the ceiling, he bolted down two flights of stairs to his room
and returned seconds later with... whaddya know... a fire extinguisher. I am reminded now
after almost five hours of clean up in my kitchen last night, where a fine
yellow powder covered every surface and a fire was snuffed out, that we are
truly fortunate to have been left with the mess that could be cleaned
up, rather than picked through and hauled away!
Our home is intact, albeit needing some baking soda in the carpets – and
possibly a coat of fresh paint on the kitchen and living room ceilings.
Once the odor of grease and smoke clears from the house and I hang some new
curtains we’ll be right as rain again and back to normal, with one exception.
I will never again NOT keep a working extinguisher under the kitchen sink
– and thanks to some long overdue research, which took all of fifteen minutes,
I will now know how to put out a grease fire.
GREASE FIRE SAFETY
1.Never throw water on a grease fire. It will cause it to
explode. Righto!
2.Do Not throw Sugar OR Flour on a fire. They are combustible.
3.Never try to move a pan that is on fire. This can make things much
worse. Got it!
4.Put a lid on it! SMOTHER a grease fire! Throw
on an oven mitt and using either a lid or a cookie sheet, slide it over the pan
– something that is fire proof that will not allow air in. If you can’t
find the proper lid, grab one that is bigger but will fit snugly around the
edge to cut off the fire’s air supply.
5.Shut off the burner and do not remove the lid until the pan is cooled 15
minutes.
A SECONDARY METHOD TO PUT OUT GREASE FIRES
Use a class B or BC or ABC fire extinguisher.
Caution: Fire extinguisher’s release so much pressure that it could tip the pan
or spread the burning grease if sprayed too close to the grease fire. So, if you
do use a fire extinguisher, start at a distance away and move towards the fire,
rather than locating the nozzle directly near the burning grease.
Should a grease fire occur, don’t panic. Humph! If you believe your safety is
in jeopardy, evacuate the house and call 911 from the neighbors. Don’t forget –
where there’s Fire, there’s Smoke! Carbon monoxide poisoning can have lasting
effects, even after you’ve gotten out of the house.
Smoke inhalation is
the leading cause of death from indoor fires.
Smoke rises, so GET DOWN
and GET OUT quickly! And, NEVER, EVER go back into the house if the fire has
not been contained! Wait for the fire department to arrive!
MY THIRD MISTAKE!
Install a smoke detector on each floor of your house or apartment, and one in
the basement. They should be located close to sleeping areas and near the
kitchen so that a cooking fire can be detected in its earliest stage. We had
them outside of every bedroom and in the basement. We DID NOT have one on the
same floor as the kitchen! Our reasoning was, if we placed one too near the
cooking area it would be screaming at us every time a little smoke escaped. Had
one been installed closer by, perhaps I would have reached it BEFORE the flames
were uncontrollable and BEFORE thick, black, choking smoke had completely
filled the entire first floor – from ceiling to my eye level!
When to Seek Medical Care for Smoke Inhalation
It wasn’t until the fire was out and we were all safely out of the house
that I worried about how much smoke we may have inhaled into our lungs. If you
suspect you or someone with you are having problems due to smoke inhalation,
contact your doctor or go to the local emergency room for advice.
Seek medical attention if you or someone with you experience the following
symptoms with smoke inhalation:
Hoarse voice
Difficulty breathing
Prolonged coughing spells
Mental confusion
Decide whether to call an
ambulance for assistance. Someone with smoke inhalation can get worse
quickly. If such a person were transported by private vehicle, significant
injury or death could occur on the way that might have been avoided if
that person were taken by emergency medical services.
It is so easy to put things off when it seems we are always trying to just
find a moment to relax in between our running. House fires are often avoidable.
It literally takes just minutes to lose everything you own and more
importantly, your life or the lives of those you love.
Ever have one of those moments when your mouth shares, aloud, exactly what’s on your mind? It was suggested to me recently by a trickster, a sh*t stirrer-upper, a woman of both class and crass – that I simply explain my dilemma to the lawn tractor dealer behind the counter, by way of complete honesty, which ironically was neither complete, nor the honest truth.
“Tell him,” she stated, “that you need that part today – because you’re starting your period tomorrow.”
“But, I’m not starting my period tomorrow,” I replied, giddy with fear. For, I know her all too well.
“That is not the point of this exercise,” she insisted.
“What is,” I wanted to know, laughing now at the absurdity of her suggestion.
“Just tell him – and then say nothing.”
“Nothing,” I aped.
“Nothing,” she replied, insistent. “Just wait for it.”
“For what,” I asked, considering how freeing it might feel to entertain this deviance.
“For the blank stare that will follow when you simply tell him, ‘I need this part no later than five pm today... because I start my period tomorrow’.”
She grinned.
“What can he, possibly, say in response to that?” “It’s brilliant!”
Now, I’m not one to be so blunt. Shock value is highly overrated. Nor, am I one to mislead a poor, unsuspecting sap by making up lies. But, I found this funny. Not so funny, mind you, that I seriously considered embarrassing, both myself and the unfortunate victim, in the lawn and tractor service department. Enough, I will say, that I can agree the look of confusion, followed by terror, might have been worthy of a small lie, if only I were as deviant as she.
What is it, honestly, about we women that makes us want to share this most intimate of details with men anyway? It’s a “Sure Thing” with our male counterparts. Ask them to add tampons to the ‘Honey Do Grocery List’ and you are almost guaranteed to see the man before you, morph into the boy he once was, complete with mumbled protestations as he shuffles his feet and lowers his eyes to the floor. You would think they worry the cashier will suspect they are for his use and not yours!
C’mon people, I don’t know how many times I had to stop into the ‘hardware’ store, with a baby on my hip, to pick up another box of Trojans. You don’t hear me complaining – much.
Here is what I find fascinating about Men:
They’ll pierce a rusty hook through a wriggling worm with nary a flinch.
They’ll smash their finger with a hammer and talk about how cool it looks for days.
They’ll slice through their shin with a newly sharpened blade on a chain saw without any sign of a whimper.
They’ll scrape the lifeless body of a gnat onto the side of their plate and continue eating.
They’ll turn their underwear inside out and sideways to avoid doing the laundry.
They’ll skin a rabbit and all its kin with the precision of a surgeon and still name their child’s pet, Sweetie Pie.
They will watch as their children are born with tears in their eyes, even as they try to escape the horror of what just happened to their wife. Yet, they will not go along without a fuss, at the mention of “When I start”.
I’m a big girl. I know when I’m trying to lead a horse to water ~ and I know, there is No Way, That Horse is Gonna Fall For Any of My Old Tricks.
I also know I like to talk a lot about me, especially about “…my heart, my brain, my smarts, my medical charts and when I start”!
A girl can dream.
I didn’t follow through with our little psychological experiment. I do still have to look this man in the eye, when I pick up my part next week, after all. Though, I do still think, fondly, of her suggestion that I separate myself from my inner monologue, if only once in a while. A life lived in fear... and all that.
On second thought ~ a little talk of feminine hygiene might be in order, if it doesn’t arrive in a more timely manner.
