Last week, I put a stick of butter in a pan, turned on the burner, and reached for the milk.
Only a few drops left.
I thought, “If I leave now, I can stop at the store before I have to pick up Lindsay.” So that’s what I did. Only I forgot to turn off the burner.
Thirty minutes later, I came home to this:
(FYI, our cupboards are ordinarily white and that’s not a shadow under the microwave. Notice the knobs melted off on the right?)
Obviously I take full responsibility. But that didn’t stop me from hysterically yelling halfway around the world (via Skype) to my husband about:
“…fire in our kitchen!”
”…smoke damage!!!”
“…melted microwave!!!”
I was frantic about getting the attic fan turned on, and needed him to tell me how to remove the seal in the attic. So what did he do? He hung up on me. Yes he did. He couldn’t find a way to turn down the volume on the Skype call, and my hysteria wasn’t fitting the ambiance of the Malaysian restaurant, where he was having breakfast. There was the clink of china, the rustling of newspapers, and the hysterical screams of a frantic wife. One sound had to go.
Click.
Well, guess who wasn’t happy about the brevity of our call? When you’ve caused a fire, put your kids at risk, and are trying to save your house from smoke damage, you don’t worry about maintaining your ‘fine dining’ tone of voice. Ken obviously couldn’t smell the smoke or see the black haze in the air. All he could see was the awkward glances of people around him.
Ken’s back home now. We’ve reconciled. And the smoke effects are (almost) gone. But I’m still thinking about my tone of voice. How often do I ‘keep my voice down’ about Jesus out of social courtesy? Even when I’m very, very concerned about a friend’s future without Christ, I minimize my volume because I don’t want to make a scene (which, apparently, I can–even in other hemispheres).
But the more I read the Bible, the more I can smell the smoke and see the haze in a reality without Jesus. It makes me want to abandon my ‘fine dining’ tone and crank out some noise. Sure, my friends might hang up. But they also might listen, come out of the haze, and see Jesus for the first time.
Ohhhh… my dear Shannon… another story to put in your arsenal! 🙂 Glad everyone is OK, and that you can pull a spiritual implication out of any situation! Keep on writing!
This makes me laugh because I can see myself doing something like this! I am still cracking up thinking of Ken receiving your hysterical call. HAHAHA!!
Jackie (Slezack?)I don't know if 'arsenal' is a good word to use in conjunction with me–especially under the circumstances! But my dear mother said, when I called to tell her, “Well, you'll have another story to tell.” 🙂 I'm telling the Lord that just one fire gives me plenty of material to work with–don't need two! 🙂
Heidi, I'm glad I can bring laughter a week later. I can assure you nobody was laughing in the smoke! 🙂 God is so good to spare us any injury. 🙂
So true about the “fine dining voice” because of our inclination toward manners. The stakes are high and there is much to lose. This is a time for boldness!
That's a funny tale Shannon! But it scared the wits out of me. And may have a point there; Fire accidents, incidental or not, will endanger the lives of your loved ones. It is best not to panic on such a situation. A 'cool' head is your best defense. Try to be calm and stay on your toes. Also, kitchen-related incidents are the most common cause of house fires, so be sure to keep you appliances in good condition and never leave cooking food unattended.
Thanks, Pheobe. I can honestly say I am much more guarded against kitchen fires now!
I must say that was hilarious and frightening at the same time! I can imagine your panic at that moment. Is your kitchen restored now? If you are still in the process of rebuilding your kitchen, I suggest that you start fireproofing them. One way to have a fire-safe kitchen is to use the right equipment. If something isn’t labeled as safe for the stovetop use, don’t put it in the burner. The same thing goes for anything you put in the oven or microwave. If in doubt, don’t use it.
That was a dreadful sight! Your appliances were terribly damaged by the fire and smoke. But it’s a good thing that Lindsay wasn’t in the house during this incident, as this kind of smoke contains chemical toxins. This is of course harmful to your child. Anyway, the important thing is you and your children were safe, and your house wasn’t completely burned down. Whew!
Hi there! I will be looking forward to visit your page again and for your other posts as well. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about fire damage in your area. I am glad to stop by your site and know more about fire damage. Keep it up! This is a good read.
The glow of a flame is complex. Black-body radiation is emitted from soot, gas, and fuel particles, though the soot particles are too small to behave like perfect blackbodies. There is also photon emission by de-excited atoms and molecules in the gases. Much of the radiation is emitted in the visible and infrared bands. The color depends on temperature for the black-body radiation, and on chemical makeup for the emission spectra. The dominant color in a flame changes with temperature. The photo of the forest fire is an excellent example of this variation. Near the ground, where most burning is occurring, the fire is white, the hottest color possible for organic material in general, or yellow. Above the yellow region, the color changes to orange, which is cooler, then red, which is cooler still. Above the red region, combustion no longer occurs, and the uncombusted carbon particles are visible as black smoke.
Do not use any electrical appliances such as a TV or stereo until it has been cleaned and checked.
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Thank you for sharing your experience. Fires can be very dangerous and even life threatening. For oil fires make sure you do not throw water on it because the fire will spread. My apartment complex in Texas recently caught fire and my room was severely damaged. I contacted my local Conroe fire damage company and they helped me deal with the aftermath.
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