Sam Chambers
05-28-2004, 2:42 PM
We dodged a bullet at our house yesterday.
Wednesday night, our 9 year-old stepson decided to put his hand towel over the light fixture in the downstairs bathroom to warm it up so it would dry his hair better. He promptly forgot about the towel, but at least he turned the light off. Until...
Thursday morning, after finishing his morning bathroom duties, he left the bathroom lights on, no noticing that the towel was still up there. About an hour later, while I was upstairs working in my office, the smoke alarms went off. My 14 year-old stepdaughter was still asleep, and the alarms didn't wake her up, so I got her out of bed and out the door. The downstairs bathroom was filled with smoke, and it was spilling out into the rest of the house. I grabbed a fire extinguisher and went back to the bathroom door. It was only them that I saw that the lights were on and something was burning up near the light fixture. I turned off the light and aimed the fire extinguisher, which made quick work of the flames.
The damage was minimal, and contained in the bathroom. We evacuated the smoke by using every portable fan we had, as well as the exhaust fan in the bathroom. Here's a photo of the "scene of the crime" after I removed the light bulb on which the towel was burning:
http://samcham.home.mindspring.com/Photos/FireDamage.JPG
Lessons learned:
1. Thank You, God for making sure I was home yesterday morning. I don't want to think about what might have happened had I not been here. It's entirely possible that we'd be mourning the loss of a child. The house and all its contents can be replaced, but she can't.
2. We have to watch the little guy much more closely.
3. Because she sleeps so soundly, we can't leave in the morning without making sure our 14 year-ol daughter is out of bed.
4. The alarm company never did call us, nor did they call the fire department. We're switching companies as soon as possible, the heck with their contract.
5. Fire extinguishers are worth their weight in gold, even though they make a colossal mess.
6. We're removing all the light fixtures that have exposed "decorator" bulbs.
Do any of you have any helpful hints about getting rid of the smell?
Wednesday night, our 9 year-old stepson decided to put his hand towel over the light fixture in the downstairs bathroom to warm it up so it would dry his hair better. He promptly forgot about the towel, but at least he turned the light off. Until...
Thursday morning, after finishing his morning bathroom duties, he left the bathroom lights on, no noticing that the towel was still up there. About an hour later, while I was upstairs working in my office, the smoke alarms went off. My 14 year-old stepdaughter was still asleep, and the alarms didn't wake her up, so I got her out of bed and out the door. The downstairs bathroom was filled with smoke, and it was spilling out into the rest of the house. I grabbed a fire extinguisher and went back to the bathroom door. It was only them that I saw that the lights were on and something was burning up near the light fixture. I turned off the light and aimed the fire extinguisher, which made quick work of the flames.
The damage was minimal, and contained in the bathroom. We evacuated the smoke by using every portable fan we had, as well as the exhaust fan in the bathroom. Here's a photo of the "scene of the crime" after I removed the light bulb on which the towel was burning:
http://samcham.home.mindspring.com/Photos/FireDamage.JPG
Lessons learned:
1. Thank You, God for making sure I was home yesterday morning. I don't want to think about what might have happened had I not been here. It's entirely possible that we'd be mourning the loss of a child. The house and all its contents can be replaced, but she can't.
2. We have to watch the little guy much more closely.
3. Because she sleeps so soundly, we can't leave in the morning without making sure our 14 year-ol daughter is out of bed.
4. The alarm company never did call us, nor did they call the fire department. We're switching companies as soon as possible, the heck with their contract.
5. Fire extinguishers are worth their weight in gold, even though they make a colossal mess.
6. We're removing all the light fixtures that have exposed "decorator" bulbs.
Do any of you have any helpful hints about getting rid of the smell?