I’m a mom to three, so some days it feels like I’ve “seen it all”. Bumps, bruises, blood, boogers, vomit, tears, screaming, poop on fingers (and on legs, even on the wall. Don’t ask.). But there’s something that happens only with the right mix of needed ingredients, and it’s something that burns into your memories and scares the crap out of you. A fire.
Yesterday at dinner time, I went to the kitchen to get started on turkey burgers and fries. I got out a bowl, went to the oven, and turned it to 425* to preheat for the fries. I put the bowl on the counter, put my ground turkey in, and threw away the trash. I pulled the dijon mustard from the fridge, along with Worchestershire sauce, and went back to my bowl to add those. I squeezed in the dijon, and reached over for my iPhone. I wanted to turn on Spotify – a ritual during dinner time. There’s nothing better than cooking and music.
I hit the wrong app icon (ahem, Pinterest, I think I’ll blame you for all of this) and as I went to close it, I smelled something funky. Still holding my phone, I went to the oven and opened it. Flames. A pizza box, totally forgotten about, completely on fire. Flames shooting out of the oven, right in front of my face. I slammed it closed and hit the “cancel” button to turn it off. My fingers started dialing 911 as I screamed for the kids to get the hell outside.
Brenden grabbed Gavin and was helping him while I told the 911 dispatcher our address and that I had turned the oven off and was getting everyone outside. I scooped up Haley and we ran outside, all in socks (or barefoot, poor Gavin) while it started to sprinkle and ran to our neighbors porch.
The fire was contained to the oven, and there’s no damage to the wall right next to it or the cabinets above it. The firefighters, upon arrival, began airing out the house by opening all of the windows and doors and using a high-powered fan to blow the smoke out.
Oh the smell! Blech, you can still smell it actually.
Here’s what the control panel of the oven looks like now. That yellow arrow is pointing to a part of the plastic that’s bubbled up. Everything seems to work – I have NOT turned the oven actually on, just messed with the timer and clock. The blue arrow is pointing to a part of the oven that’s like, warped or something, and it’s not letting the door close unless you push it – which you did not have to do prefire.
Ugh. So after talking with insurance, it’s not worth it to submit a claim. I’ve decided to replace the oven and we’ll be doing some looking/shopping this weekend. It’s a built-in/wall oven. I guess we’ll start those home remodeling upgrades a bit sooner than we thought!
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In the spirit of being an EMT’s wife (who went through firefighter training), I want to share some fire safety tips with you.
The USFA site provides some great tips that everyone should review.
Keep a small fire extinguisher in your kitchen and know how to use it! PASS = Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. Always aim at the BASE of the fire, not the flames.
This is your reminder to check your smoke detectors and review your escape plan. We have 2 main exits for our home – I immediately knew not to bring the kids through the kitchen to go out the back, since the fire was located in the kitchen. We went out the front. We will be reviewing with the kids that they are to go outside, down the front steps and to the sidewalk. Then they will either go across the street, or down to our neighbors next to us, but never back up those steps and never, EVER back inside.
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Wish us luck on finding a new oven and that we can get it installed soon – for now it’s cooktop and crock pot dinners!