Fire By Chimi

Fire by Chimi?!

This year has already been full of excitement. Let me tell you a little story about last Saturday and how our house could have burned down from fire by chimi, a chimichanga and the importance of being prepared.

The fire alarm was going off. Again!

It had gone off every day for the last month.

I rolled out of bed, shuffled my way to the door, opened it, and was hit by a wall of smoke.

This was not a drill!

The good news: the smoke cleared quickly enough for me to see through.

The Bad News:

The bad news: I glanced around the corner to see that the stove was engulfed in flames. Flames that reached the ceiling and a microwave that was a melted heap of a mess.

If any of you have ever awoken to a house fire,  you know you discover a lot about yourself in those few moments. Fortunately, I learned that I’m a fighter, not a flighter. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and, like a boss, I took those flames out.

And then my husband walked in.

“Oh crap, I forgot about frying my chimichangas,” he said.

Extinguisher still in hand, and turned to him for a little bit more of an explanation.

Apparently, somebody had left a grease-filled pan on the hot oven, stuck the frozen chimis in the microwave to thaw, and then… walked away?

When the fire extinguisher has been used it is important to get out of the area as it sucks up all the oxygen and could be dangerous to breathe. So quickly opened up all the doors and windows to air the house out and went outside to wait for the smoke and fumes to die down. I turned around to ask my husband what on earth he was thinking when I saw him turn around and run back inside.

Did he go in to rescue a small animal or child?

No, he did not go in to rescue any small animals or children.

He emerged from the smoke-filled house with his chimis – yes, the ones that had been thawing in the now-melted microwave – he propped himself against the trailer and was taking a bite out of one.

At this point, our neighbor noticed the chimichanga in my hubby’s hands and asked: “How’s that chimi?”

“The first one was fine. This second one is okay… it tastes a little bit like melted plastic, but not too bad.” Without missing a beat, like it was the most natural thing in the world, he then turned to me and said: ” You’re welcome, by the way.”

“‘For What?’” I asked.  The fire that he started?!

“Yeah, I thought you could use a break from cooking this week,” He shrugged like this was an everyday thing.

“Ha!” My neighbor laughed. “Looks like his real intention here is to prove why you should never let your man cook.” He may start a fire by chimi.

A bright side!

I guess I am always preaching positivity. Finding the Bliss in all things. He was just practicing what I preach. High Five to the hubby on his positivity thoughts!

This whole situation could have been an absolute mess. But there’s a bright side to everything (and I don’t just mean the light from the flames).

For one thing, our children could have been in the house and our entire house could have burned down.  All we really lost was the microwave and the upper cabinets. Oh, and those cabinets? They weren’t empty. We kept our cooking oil and old, brittle family cookbooks – AKA guaranteed fuel for flames in those cabinets. Yet those all survived and just on the other side of the wall was all my family photo albums. The thought of those going up in flames has left me thinking of how to protect those. Ash was everywhere, it looked like it had snowed and even made it onto those photo albums but it is easily wiped away. I am married to a handyman so the cabinets are a minor thing to fix, the microwave and stove easily replaced but pictures are priceless!

I guess I won’t have to make dinner until we get a new stove! That’s always nice!

Yeah! Kitchen Remodel for me!

I see a kitchen remodel in my near future now that I need a new stove and cabinets, and I LOVE remodels.

I’ve been counting my blessings this week. We had a fire extinguisher and alarms in the house (sure those alarms were going off every day for no reason, but hey, they worked when we needed them to!) no one was hurt, and our most important possessions are all fine.

This week I encourage you to test your alarms. If you are in need of a new alarm you can order one here.  Make sure you have a fire extinguisher on hand as well. Do NOT keep it by the stove because when I arrived at my stove the cabinet next to it was already engulfed in flames. If you need one I recommend this one here.

I myself will be looking for a fireproof external hard drive similar to this one here to save all my pictures on.

I know it is an investment to purchase some of these items, but preparedness is the key to protecting what you love the most. And please don’t start a fire by chimi!

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