My greatest fear

All my life, my worst fear has been a house fire. When I was very little, somewhere between four and five, a family we knew lost everything in a fire. I have a few images in my memory from my mother going through our closets and taking things we could spare. Since that time, I have always feared fire more than anything.

Soon after we moved in to our current home, I was working in my office when I smelled smoke. I thought it was the neighbor’s burn pile (remember it’s a rural area, people still often burn yard waste) and our doors and windows were open, and didn’t think much of it. Then I realized it didn’t smell right. Finally tracked it down to a child’s bedroom. He had found matches (still don’t know how, they were UP and behind things) and had started a small fire in his bedroom. Right next to his dresser, and had caught the corner of a large cardboard box on fire as well. I put out the fire (vinyl floor tiles smell really bad when they burn), called the fire department and proceded to have a complete breakdown. NOTE: the fire alarms had NOT sounded, even though they were technically working.

In the last couple weeks, five children have died in fires in the local area, in two housefires. Both fires apparently accidental. Such tragedies for these families and communities!

This is my greatest fear — less so now that my children are older, but still… Fire is so dangerous. If you have a wood stove, please get the chimney cleaned regularly — creosote builds up inside and can catch on fire, making the pipe hot enough to start fires on flammable things it touches (wood, insulation, roofing); make sure the chimney isn’t blocked by debris from above, either. Keep flammable objects away from heat sources — papers, books, clothes and other fabric items, wood piles… toys. Don’t leave cloth items on or near a cookstove, either. Keep hotpads and towels away from the burners!

Make sure you have both smoke and heat detectors (if you can, otherwise, at least make sure the smoke detectors have fresh batteries regularly) in all the recommended places. If your fire detectors/alarms are wired in to your house, know they have a limited working life and replace them on schedule. And I suggest smoke alarms for every bedroom…

Stay safe, even as you stay warm this winter.