TWO WEEKS AGO, I received a phone call from Ashley that no one wants to receive.
With panic in her voice, she said “I came home, the house is filled with smoke, the fire alarms are going off and I see flames under the stove. I called 911; the kids and I are outside.”
Working at the paper, I go to many house fires. When they happen in the county, I know the odds are not good.
As I drove home, I had time to think about several things: Do we have enough fire insurance coverage? Will it be enough to rebuild? I thought about all of our family pictures that I had really meant to make copies of to keep at a different location. Doing a house inventory was on my to-do list for the last several years, but I just hadn’t completed it yet.
When I got home, the firefighters had not arrived yet. I went to the kitchen and saw 3-foot flames coming out of the flexible propane line that connects to the stove.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived. They turned off the gas at the propane tank and a firefighter worked to extinguish the fire.
At the end of the day, we were extremely lucky. Most of the damage was to the stove. Fortunately, the fire didn’t ignite the wood cabinets that were less than an inch away or the wood flooring.
We have no idea how the fire started or how long it had been burning. But the incident serves as a reminder that you can never know when a disaster will happen.
Why not take time to do the following, just so you can prepared if an accident happens to you?
• Call your insurance agent. Have the agent out to your house to review your insurance coverage and make sure everything is up to date.
• Make sure fire extinguishers are located on every level of the house. Check smoke detectors and practice a fire drill.
• Show family members how to shut off the gas to your house and have your gas lines tested every year.
• Complete a house inventory.
• Make copies of pictures or other valuables and store them at a different location.
Christopher White Walker
Editor & Publisher