Uh, fire department? The building's on fire...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

OK so it wasn’t that bad but today was the first time I used a fire extinguisher for it’s intended use!

My GF and I were just dropping off some groceries when I forgot some sun block (going to an amusement park tomorrow). So while we’re getting on our shoes we smell this horrible stench from the hall. I was thinking burning plastic, she thought her neighbours were cooking something for dinner.

We step out and find smoke! And a fire! I, at first, thought it was a prank but the floor really was burning. I approached it, the over head lamp had exploded, dropping the burning light cover onto the tiled floor. It was starting to burn too (the whole fire was only maybe 2 feet in diameter and 2 feet high). I grab my GF’s cell phone (go figure mine’s still in the car) and call 911.

I have to hand it to the fire department, they’re quick. While they were on their way I tried to find the fire hose. There was one 20 feet away…on the other side of the fire of course. So I figured they’d be another at the other end. I grab it, damn heavy bastard, and try to pull the pin. Now I’m sure because of all the kids playing with extinguishers they had to add the little zip tie to keep the pin in. Freaking thing took me a full minute of pulling to break the zip tie and get it all set. The smoke was starting to water my eyes so reading the instructions was out.

While I approached the fire, my old boy scout training kicked in.

  1. Approach the fire low
  2. Hit fire from the ground up

So I did, and got a face full of black icky smoke.

I was still waiting for freaking people to run out of their homes but none did. The smoke was now very thick, couldn’t see the other side of the hall anymore. Since the light that blew was still on (at first, I thought it was on fire, but I didn’t want to hit it with water. I would have if I had an ABC chemical extinguisher, but I only had an “A” type plain water).

I put the extinguisher down the hall incase someone needed it and ran back. My GF and I alerted the superintendent and I wanted to go outside and move my car (ironically I had parked in the no-parking, fire zone lane).

Just as I got to my car, I heard the sirens. I parked it on the street just as 3 fire trucks, 2 large fire vans, 1 ambulance (and a partridge in a pear tree, I’m lying about the tree).

So they did their thing. I didn’t even talk to anyone! The 911 operator got my name and my GF’s cell number but I didn’t get a call. Nothing. Zippo.

Ahh well, it was kinda exciting. Although I smell like crap and after I post and eat my take-out chinese, I’m going to hit the shower.

So anyone else have anything exciting and cool to share?

2

I somehow successfully restrained myself at the Foodmaxx supermarket today. A young Hispanic woman before me in line had all of three items (a roast chicken, a soda and a bottle of pine cleaner). The woman in front of her had over 50 items in her cart. Before the checker began checking out the woman with the full cart, the meek Hispanic gal asked if she might go first.

No dice. The Ethiopian woman in front of her just couldn’t bear being delayed by all of 60 seconds. This woman said some unintelligble things (to my ears) to the Hispanic lady, but, evidently, “Sure, you can go first.” was not one of them. I leaned over and politely expressed my shock and dismay at this to the Hispanic gal.

I also had to physically restrain myself from loudly and publically berating this rectal cavity for being so incredibly inconsiderate. Somehow, I managed to do so and am still wondering why I even bothered.

A fire extinguisher would have been nice. Just the right heft to bludgeon a sense of courtesy into that moron.

3

Now see that’s an exciting fire story. You got fire trucks and everything. The one fire I was a witness to I managed to put out all on my own but it was really scary while it lasted.

  See I was fourteen or fifteen, and I was babysitting at the neighbor's.  The kids and I were watching a movie in the girl's room when we heard the fire alarm go off.  C and I go downstairs to see what it is and see this candle that has burned down all the way and cracked the terra cotta pot it was in.  It then set the wooden crate it was sitting in on fire and created a merry little bonfire.  When we got downstairs it was just starting to set the tablecloth on fire.  

  Since the neighbors hadn't chosen to tell me where the fire extinguisher was, I grabbed the half of the crate that wasn't on fire and headed as quick as I could to the kitchen.  The flames licked over to my hand once so I dropped the whole mess on their linoleum, but I managed to pick it up and get it into the sink and out.  The little burned spot on the floor was there until they remodeled their kitchen a few years ago.  

 Of course the real fun came when we couldn't find C's brother.  Here I am with a blistered hand trying to find a nine year old who may have run out of the house because of the fire alarm.  Luckily we found him asleep under a blanket just before their parents drove up.  Apparently their mother had left the candle burning before they left to go out to dinner.  She was very apologetic.

-Lil

4

What the heck is a Foodmaxx? That’s a really strange name for a grocery store. (I say this while living in a state that has “Piggly Wiggly” grocery stores.)

Hey, badmana, glad you walked out of your experience intact.

Imploring all SDMB posters: please be careful with the fireworks this weekend, guys! They are beautiful - and deadly on occasion.

5

Speaking in favor of little zip tie thingies…

When I was giving a safety lecture on the use of fire extinguishers at work in a rather small room, I hefted a great big ABC extinguisher in front of the rather tightly packed assemblage of co-workers, and the pin fell out. :eek:

Nothing gets the attention of a room full of people as fast as a looming disaster.

–Patch

6

Foodmaxx used to be Food4Less. I hope that clears things up. (Its one of those 24 hour monster warehouse style stores, almost like Costco, just without the 55 gallon drums of vegetable oil and orange juice.) I’m leaving in your fireworks warning because it’s so important.

7

One more word or two.

I am stunned by how many people I know that do not have a fire extinguisher in their home. I personally had to provide two different homeowners I know with fire extinguishers. I have four or five of them scattered throughout my small house. Halon for my precious sound boards and music equipment. Compressed nitrogen for fast extinguishing of small flare ups and an ABC or two for general use.

Get one today. Save your life, your loved ones and your investment. Extinguishers are cheap, fires are not.

8

I was an actor in college, doing the kid’s show Ozma of Oz, playing Bill the Chicken, when we had a fire break out on stage DURING a performance. One of the set pieces was basically a wood frame, surrounded by chicken wire, burlap and erosion cloth, and we were using a fog machine to make the piece look like it was steamng. On the day in question, the fog machine decided to put out FLAME instead of fog, and the set piece went up like a torch. Luckily the set crew was well versed on what to do in such a situation, and had the fire out, the set piece out of the building, and the building ventilated before the fire department showed up - four minutes after the call was made. 30 minutes later we continued the show. We received a commendation from them for our professionalism in dealing with such a serious matter.

Oh, what did I do during the fire? Well, I was wearing a huge, foam rubber chicken suit, covered with fake feathers. I headed out the door as quick as I could - I was probably more flammable than the set piece was!

9

Our house burned down - with all of my family in it! Including me!

Luckily every last one of us got out without harm. But it was literally seconds away from total disaster. As it was, it was complete disaster save loss of life.

10

I have one extinguisher in my kitchen and one in my car. They are cheap! I think everyone should have AT LEAST one, preferably two.

When I lived in Savannah in an apartment, a guy who lived on the third floor of one building was grilling food by the pool, while simultaneously cooking french fries on the third floor. Bad Idea. Grease fire started, and he dutifully had a fire extinguisher nearby and used in to put out the fire on and around the stovetop. Unfortunately the fire had spread to the walls and gotten behind things, and his extinguisher ran out of stuff. Between fire damage, smoke damage, and water damage from the fire department, all 14 units in that building were uninhabitable, and everyone lost their stuff.

Noone in the building had renter’s insurance. They all sued the one guy (22 year old, married), but he had nothing to pay them with, no insurance himslef, and he had to declare bankruptcy.

If you rent, GET RENTERS INSURANCE!!! IT IS CHEAP!!!

11

And to make this a total PSA, may I add that smoke detectors and batteries are also cheap?
My husband is a volunteer firefighter and we have 2 fire extinguishers and 5 smoke detectors in our house.
We live in a rancher, and have 1 fire extinguisher on each floor, and 3 smoke detectors upstairs and 2 in the basement.
Better safe than sorry.

12

Our next-door neighbor’s house caught fire Easter Sunday last year. Although he’s in great shape for his age, Jack’s almost ninety, a little hard of hearing, and somewhat forgetful. Forgetful as in forgetting he put something on the stove just before taking a nap. Also forgetting to install smoke detectors. Jack was lucky, because even though a lot of his possessions went up in smoke, his invalid wife happened to be in the hospital that day, and he got out just in time (but only because I woke him up by beating on his front door). You can read more about just how scary that was in this thread.

13

I just want to pop in and give a PSA on the smoke detectors (what can I say, its my job)

We had a fire just yesterday morning where the people in this duplex apartment unit left the stove on after they went upstairs and to sleep (I know, I know) and some grease on the stove flared up at about 3:25AM. They would have died if they hadn’t had a smoke detector in the kitchen that went off as smoke began to spread. They woke up and called us(FD). So as a result all they got a badly burned kitchen and smoke damage in the unit (and to live another day).

One of the firefighters on scene said the kitchen was between the stairs and the front door. If the detector hadn’t gone off they would have been trapped.

14

oh, and as far as smoke detectors being cheap, most fire departments (ours included) will give you one if you can’t afford it, and will install it for you if you can’t do that either.

15

I’ve had that problem. I used to live in an 8-unit building and some of the tenants’ cooing was quite…aromatic. I finally called 911 when my eyes started watering. Turned out the tenants in #4 had gone out but left a hotplate on.

While the FD did their thing, I was outside chatting with the some neighbors after and found out that they, too, thought somebody was just cooking dinner.