Well, that happened
Nov. 11th, 2025 01:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fabrisseFirst of all, everything is fine.
About 40 minutes ago, I smelled smoke in the house. I woke my sister and we checked the whole house. We could both smell it strongly (exception the new extension, praise be), and my eyes started watering in our family room.
Sis thought we should just go back to bed, but I called 911, told them we couldn't see any smoke or flames -- and that I'd checked outside to make certain we weren't smelling a neighbor's house -- but we could smell it.
Now, Savannah rarely drops below 45F, but tonight we're having a hard freeze. So, Sis put on slippers and a fleece. I put on my winter coat, bless 14 years in Boston, and I gave her some gloves. We were inordinately happy that we'd put the dogs in their sweaters on Sunday, so we didn't need to worry too much about their being cold.
We had three fire vehicles here in under 15 minutes, possibly under 10. They went through the whole house twice. No hot spots. The conclusion is that it was the first time the heating had come on and dust or other minor detritus had singed.
I'm somewhat embarrassed, but I think I did the right thing. The firemen were all very kind.
What occurs to me now is that neither of us thought of grabbing our wallets, car keys, or the very nice little box with most of our relevant insurance and mortgage information. It is flood and fire proof. I got it for the folks the Christmas that they moved to Savannah, and it surprised me how difficult it was 5 years ago to find a box the right size that was both.
So, next time -- and I really hope there isn't one -- grab box, grab purse, maybe grab medications?
About 40 minutes ago, I smelled smoke in the house. I woke my sister and we checked the whole house. We could both smell it strongly (exception the new extension, praise be), and my eyes started watering in our family room.
Sis thought we should just go back to bed, but I called 911, told them we couldn't see any smoke or flames -- and that I'd checked outside to make certain we weren't smelling a neighbor's house -- but we could smell it.
Now, Savannah rarely drops below 45F, but tonight we're having a hard freeze. So, Sis put on slippers and a fleece. I put on my winter coat, bless 14 years in Boston, and I gave her some gloves. We were inordinately happy that we'd put the dogs in their sweaters on Sunday, so we didn't need to worry too much about their being cold.
We had three fire vehicles here in under 15 minutes, possibly under 10. They went through the whole house twice. No hot spots. The conclusion is that it was the first time the heating had come on and dust or other minor detritus had singed.
I'm somewhat embarrassed, but I think I did the right thing. The firemen were all very kind.
What occurs to me now is that neither of us thought of grabbing our wallets, car keys, or the very nice little box with most of our relevant insurance and mortgage information. It is flood and fire proof. I got it for the folks the Christmas that they moved to Savannah, and it surprised me how difficult it was 5 years ago to find a box the right size that was both.
So, next time -- and I really hope there isn't one -- grab box, grab purse, maybe grab medications?
no subject
Date: 2025-11-11 10:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-11 04:33 pm (UTC)I also can't tell you how happy we were that the dogs already had sweaters on.
*hugs* (and I love that icon)
no subject
Date: 2025-11-12 03:12 am (UTC)But I'm glad you and your sister were safe, and it turned out to not be a house fire. No one needs one of those.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-13 01:41 am (UTC)When I didn't find anything in the house, I went outside to check because the thought of a neighbor's house was scary.
I'll see about purchasing and printing that poster.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-12 04:25 am (UTC)Yeah, you should maybe rehearse some evacuation plans? Doing that is not just for kids. It's easier to remember to grab keys, wallets, and box if you have practiced doing so. (Much easier, especially than when trying to think when startled awake by the blare of a fire alarm.)
Meds maybe (depending on how controlled/expensive they are, and how easy they are to grab - but they are a commodity pretty easily replaced). Phones/devices definitely, unless you're really confident of your off-site automatic backups.
ETA: Something I like is having a large capacious bag handy into which I can pitch my wallet/purse, keys, devices (phones, laptop, PDA), etc and a pair of shoes at a dead run, so I'm not figuring out how to juggle everything in my hands (especially if on cane or crutches) and I'm not stopping to put on my shoes in a burning building. Have also tossed a sweatshirt or umbrella in on the way out, for the weather.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-12 04:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-13 01:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-13 01:34 am (UTC)The thing is we have the capacious bags by the front door. We just didn't think to pick them up. 🙄
Since I have such bad feet, I always have something on them. The dogs weren't a complication we'd prepared for, but having their leads in a drawer by the door (right under those capacious bags) was useful. And I think a strip of medications, one of those weekly pill dosages, wouldn't be a bad idea in the drawer with the leads.
Still, a drill or two wouldn't hurt.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-12 07:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-13 01:16 am (UTC)