my life didn't flash before my eyes...but my wallet did!

[- Femme -]

Yesterday was the scariest day of my life. It was the only time I seriously thought that I was going to die. A pan boiling with oil in the stove exploded and caught on fire that even burned as high as our ceiling and as far as out of the kitchen door and into the hallway. Suffocating smoke was everywhere and my mom refused to leave the house. So many things flashed before my eyes: (they lied..it wasn't my life) - I thought about running back upstairs and getting my wallet Just in case we needed to stay at a hotel and food and I need my ID & cards, I also thought shit! we have no insurance on anything...were going to be homeless. And I also remember thinking...damn...how can I continue school if my house burns down. All that in a space of seconds. Alhamudulliah my mom, against my pleadings and threats...picked up the pan, holding in with a couple of wet towels and set it down on the rug. It immediately burned through the rug and the flying oil burned her on her hands (she had huge blisters the next day). The scariest thing of all was that our gas tank was only inches away from the stove - it's a miracle the house didnt explode - or mom didnt severly burn her hands and face. It was backbreaking cleaning up - we eventually had to paint alot of it because the black soot wouldn't come off no matter how we tried.

 

Anyway, have you ever thought - this is it - I'm going to die? What was it about? And if a fire did happen at your place, and you could take only one thing out safely (excluding people & pets) what would it be and what value does it have?

[STOIC]

Fire is a dangerous thing. You will not know this until you witness it or experience it happen. I have often seen my Somali community taking the precaution of fire lightly. Pardon me for gearing away from your questions by addressing some important factors that may one day be helpful to your life. There are four elements of fire; heat, oxygen, fuel and chemical reactions. If these four elements are combined you will have fire ready anytime. Fire is normally divided into four categories; class A (solid materials), class B (flammable liquids, gasoline), class C (electrical), and class D (metals). You need to put fire extinguishers in your house and your car. This is an important factor. Different fire extinguishers are used for different purpose. You must know what type to use when the occasion arises. For flammable liquids like gas and cooking oil try to use class B carbon dioxide extinguishers. For electrical equipments use class C fire extinguishers, and for solid materials use Air pressurized water extinguishers. Please remember never ever use water when electric is involved because water is a good conductor. I have often seen Somali families using spark prone equipment near combustible materials-this is a no no situation. And please check once in a while if your fire extinguisher works. You may never know when the firefighters will arrive in time to save your wallet. If you live in the United States where most of the houses are made of wood materials please do keep a full face respirator for emergency exit. Have a safe day, won’t you?

 

PS Pardon my safety talk.

[Lake]

^^^

As always we like to thank the good Doctor..Good looking out maynnn we really needed that

 

But what that girl went through sounds scary..We're glad nothing happend to ya and your family. LOL@your mom not wanting to leave..sounds just like what my mom would do. You ran back to get your wallet? what happend to the banks?..I see you're the type to keep all your eggs in one basket.

[RedSea]

Akram, I am just glad that we didn't loose you sweety. The ID and other accesories are filling a form and few weeeks away, but your life and being a fellow SOLer is very important to us.

[x_quizit]

My 2 cents on the scariest day of my life. I've had a similar experience warsan, a couple years ago. I was visiting my aunts' apartment and we had about 3 families gathered, mostly children 10 and under. It was a nice day, fun family time, and certainly not a day to ponder on death.

 

One of my cousins called out to us "Fire, Fire" and we all rushed over to the door. As she opened it, we saw huge black smoke so dark, you could not see the apartment door right across, and also flames licking the walls. We couldn't even go outside, risking burning to death and it took some effort to convince some of our family members that its actually safer to stay inside rather than venturing out.

 

We immediately bolted the door and ran towards the phone calling for help. The kids were scared, not to mention my aunts who all panicked and the cousin who opened the door was crying "Oh my God, i'll never get married, oh my god!",totally out of her mind.(we later joked about that comment, but it goes to show you, when ur faced with death, what you think about first.)

 

Another cousin and I took charge and got everyone over to the living room, as far away from the front door as possible, locking the doors along the way, trying to calm the family down. We suggested to get some towels, dampen them and put them down on the floor of the door, so that if smoke came thru, it would ease. By this time, the smoke entered the home and one of the younger kids and one of my aunts had asthma, so you can imagine how they felt. All this time, another aunt is crying, at the balcony with half the kids, crying out to whoever can hear her from the 11th floor, "Help, get a helicopter, or we're gonna die!". Her desperation was so high that she was close to jumping down the balcony to our neighbors, and we had to convince her that it was not a good idea.

 

Throughout this whole time, I remember thinking, I do not want to die this way and if I did, I was not ready to meet my maker. I thought about all my sins, what I could do differently if given the chance to live, regrets, etc, all the ingredients of having your life flash before your eyes. I looked around thinking 3 families would be nearly wiped off and maybe this is the way God designed for us to die.

 

Firefighters came soon after, putting out the fire that at this time burned one apartment down( no one was inside) and a chunk of the hallway. We surveyed the next day, and to see the enormity of what a carelessly left smoke could do, and how close we came to becoming human fried chicken.

 

Being stuck in an apartment on a high level hardly makes one think they can safely escape and it was thanks to the quick response of the fire crew that saved our lives, because my aunts door was nearly all black and it would have been a matter of time before it would have engulfed all of us. The scary thing was, the building's fire alarm was not working and that was the reason that the fire got out of control in the first place, otherwise it would have been detected alot earlier. Only when it was out of control, and our neighbors heard our cries from the balcony and we called emergency, saved our hides. Thank God! I was not ready to die, but then again, are we ever?

[DraGon]

Warsan;

 

Next time just put a lid on the pan, and that will take care of the fire.

[N.O.R.F]

Once set a plush 6 bedroom villa on fire, this was a long time ago in the KSA. I put a plastic camera on the electric cooker without realising it was on then went off to sleep. Next things i know i'm being awakened by family and i had run outside wearing nowt! :eek:

 

Lucky it wasnt their house

[Valenteenah.]

The scariest thing of all was that our gas tank was only inches away from the stove - it's a miracle the house didnt explode

.

 

Gas tank next to the stove? Who the hell designed your house? It's a health and safety hazard. But I'm glad that you are all alright.

 

There is nothing I would save if there was a fire. Everything, other than people, is replaceable. Well, maybe my laptop. And camera. Maybe a fresh change of clothes...it would be too sad to be standing outside looking at my house burn down in guri-ku-joog clothes.

[N.O.R.F]

Gas tank next to the stove? Who the hell designed your house?

My thoughts exactly. What is the gas tank for? or do you mean boiler?

[-Serenity-]

The last near death experience I had was in Edgware Road, when I was almost hit by a car.

 

I was following Valenteenah blindly and didnt look out for cars...thinking she would know I was just inches behind her and depending on her judgement to cross, not looking out for cars myself and hence she should've made sure the lights turned green instead of cutting it fine while it was still red. A car turned into our road and almost knocked me down, but not before causing me to FREEZE FROM SHOCK with the bloody honking. I think the guy stopped a couple of inches short of knocking me out for good.

 

I had a surreal experience a few mins after that, convinced that I was dead and this little movie playing in my head of my funeral and how my family and friends would react to my departure. [dont laugh any1] I honestly almost cried watching it.

[Valenteenah.]

^ When was this then? I don't recall any such melodrama. But I'm not surprised, you never look at where you're going.

[-Serenity-]

^Last summer.. when we were regulars at Edgeware Road. Infact, I recall three separate occassions on edgeware road where I was nearly hit last year. Thats why I havent been there since.

[N.O.R.F]

^^u shouldnt txt while crossing the road!

[Valenteenah.]

^ I keep telling her that. It would be something if she could multitask but no. She speaks on her mobile while admiring her shoes or feet or another part of her body and then screams when she is almost hit by a bus. (I remember now, Amelia).

 

Vanity is a killer.

[-Lily-]

I'm glad you are alive and well Warsan.

 

My sister nearly burned down the house a couple of years ago. I was out shopping with my parents and the kids were in school. She came home after an exam and put on the pan to fry some chips, went upstairs and forgot all about it. She came down to find half the kitchen in flames. She managed to throw the pan outside in the garden (the kids had been drwaing there)and it was raining making it look like blood stains.

 

So we come home and the front door is open, the kitchen is all black, and no one in sight. My parents thinking someone killed her because of red crayon marks in the garden. Anyways, she was next door sipping tea with th elderly neigbour.

 

I nearly got run over a few times but once the bump the car actually hit me lightly.