My Terrifying Reminder to Check Your Fire Extinguishers, Montana
It's been several days now since I almost accidentally burned down my house. Now that my nerves have calmed down a bit, I want to share with you my personal experience on why it's SO important to have functional, easy-to-access fire extinguishers located at common ignition points throughout your home.
Long story, short(ish).
Last Sunday night, I was doing some meal prep. While I was puttering around in the kitchen, I had a plastic bottle of rubbing alcohol on the kitchen counter, which I was using to clean some stuff.
I went to tuck my youngest kid into bed, and when I came walking back down the hallway five minutes later, my kitchen stove was on fire! Evidently, I had spaced out and placed the plastic bottle of rubbing alcohol too close to the hot pan/oven burner—an obvious, dumb mistake. I know better than this.
My heart was racing as I reached under the kitchen sink to grab the fire extinguisher. I pulled the pin and squeezed the lever. Nothing! The fire extinguisher was at least 20 years old. It was worthless. Not even a puff of dust came out as I frantically yanked the lever.
Thankfully, this was not a grease fire.
Grease fires and water are a dangerous combination. Luckily, this wasn't flaming oil on my stove, so I grabbed the sprayer hose thing on my kitchen sink and doused the flames as the adrenaline pumped through my veins. I'm kind of surprised I didn't have a freakin' heart attack, and somehow I didn't singe my eyelashes or arm hair.
All the fire alarms in our home were screaming, the house was filled with foul-smelling smoke, my kids were freaked out, and the dog was puking in the back hallway as I opened the windows and turned on fans to ventilate the smoke.
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It's absolutely terrifying how fast fire can engulf a home.
My situation could have been much, much worse if I hadn't been able to react somewhat quickly. The intense heat destroyed my oven hood (melting the plastic fan blades, the switches, and the light fixture).
Heat and flames scorched the finish off the kitchen cupboards above the stove. There's a big smoke spot on the ceiling that will require paint. We have to wash all of our plates, bowls, and cups that were in the cupboards above the stove to get rid of the stench.
Check your fire extinguishers.
Most consumer-grade fire extinguishers last around 10 years. Mine was far older than that, and totally useless. After this incident, I will be buying new fire extinguishers and placing them around the house. I will check them regularly (along with our smoke detectors), and replace as necessary.
Fire prevention experts recommend keeping fire extinguishers in the following areas:
- The kitchen
- Near heat sources (utility rooms, fireplaces, wood stoves, etc.)
- On each floor of your home, even the attic.
- The garage
- In each bedroom
Make sure that they are easily accessible, that everyone in your household knows where they are, and everyone - including age-appropriate children - knows how to use them. Stay fire safe out there, Montana. I know I'll be a little extra thankful this Thanksgiving that we still have a home.
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