My New Year's (Eve) Fire

My submission to: 2 Lazy 2 Blog's New Year's Blog Party

As 1985 turned into 1986 I was slowly falling asleep. I had been sitting at home watching the New Years celebrations - first on the stations from down east, and then on the Edmonton and Vancouver channels. The first countdown was fun but the rest weren't.

I was in Whitehorse for my Christmas break from university and would be heading back in a few days. Things had been hectic because my parents had just sold the house and had done lots of cleaning. I thought a quiet evening alone would be nice.

As I sprawled in the lay-z-boy chair something made me snap to attention. Something was wrong! I looked around the room and saw nothing. I looked into the kitchen and noticed an odd flicker of light.

I got up and went into the kitchen. I let out a startled yelp as I noticed flames coming from the cupboard beneath the sink. I must have jumped because I found myself near the telephone. I tried to get an operator (I don't think 911 was in use yet) but couldn't.

I hung up the phone and ran to the bathroom. I dumped out the garbage can and put some water in it. I ran back to the kitchen and opened the cupboard doors and splashed water inside. Suddenly there was a lot of smoke and our alarm went off.

The smoke was getting thick as I ran downstairs looking for the fire extinguisher. I flung open the basement door and yelled, "Fire!". By opening the door I had hidden the extinguisher. I didn't look for it I just threw on my boots and went to the house next door.

The neighbours were home and had an extinguisher. I ran with it back upstairs and doused the remaining flames. The smoke was so bad I could hardly breathe. I ran back outside and the neighbours told me the fire trucks were on the way. I asked them to phone the place my parents were celebrating at.

The Fire Crew arrived and went inside. I stayed outside and tried to release all the tension in me. I was almost calm when my parents arrived home.

We went inside after the Fire Crew left. The house stank of smoke and everything would have to be cleaned again. The only real damage was to the cupboard under the sink and the heater below that (the cause of the fire). Our spirits were dampened but we were thankful because it could have been worse.

We were lucky.


( Happy New Year - Blog Party)