One Year Ago…
It was one year ago, on October 1, 2007 at 3am, that my husband woke me up to the smell of smoke in the house. An oil-soaked drop cloth spontaneously combusted in the storage area under our back porch, smoldering and blowing in the windows to my basement, filling the house with soot and smoke. It wasn’t the size of the fire that alarmed my husband, it was the fact that it was on a work bench directly above several cans of gas.
So I grabbed the girls and the dog, called 911, and carried them all outside, while my husband ran in the other direction in his boxers to fight the fire by himself while waiting for our neighbor (a fireman) and the fire department to show up. Yes, this is as ridiculous as it sounds, and that’s my point.
Our smoke detectors didn’t work - the batteries were either dead or removed. The scent hound beagle we owned didn’t wake up, like I always assumed he would in the event of a fire. (I actually had to carry his sorry fat butt downstairs and kick him outside…) We had no plan, obviously. (note: leaving your wife to carry two children by herself in a dark, smoky house is not a good idea) In short, we had some damage, but overall, we were very, very lucky.
So, please, this is my yearly warning to all who read this:
1) check your smoke detectors and change the batteries
2) develop a plan and discuss it - where you will meet if separated, who will take what child, and at least two escape routes from every floor
3) buy at least two ladders for the upper levels of your home
4) instruct your children on what to do if there is a fire (get out of the house, crawl on the floor)
5) let your children hear the fire alarm so they know what it sounds like and aren’t scared by it (children have been known to go hide in a closet when they hear such a loud noise)
If you type in “Fire Safety Plan” in Google, you’ll get dozens of checklists and plans. Please, take the time to review these lists, and go to Home Depot this weekend and get everything you need. Don’t think for a second that this kind of thing can’t happen to you - it can - and you need to be prepared.
