OK THAT’S IT!
It’s time to take some action…
Last week there was a big fire on my street. I woke up to what sounded like a big “gong”
sound that reverberated for a long time – too long to be a normal bang of
metal. I looked out the window to see
smoke billowing over the top of my garage and immediately went outside to see
the whole neighborhood watching the building a few doors down. It was engulfed in flames.
A neighbor yelled for me to go close my windows as the smoke
clouded the air. After I did that, I
joined a number of people combing the area looking for the two dogs that
belonged to the owner of the burning building.
They were later found unharmed.
Thankfully, there were no people or animals injured in the
fire. It could have been much, much
worse. The charred remains of the
building and the business it housed are still a terrible and frightening
loss. The accidental fire was apparently the result
of a stray spark caused by welding equipment.
The neighborhood community gathered outside for two hours
while the street was filled with fire trucks and equipment, sheriff cars, EMTs,
and concerned citizens. We had much to
think about.
Seeing all of that smoke and watching helplessly, we each
reviewed our own moments in which we realized something was terribly
wrong. We were all standing ready to
help in any way we could. I felt like I
wanted to do something.
I started reviewing the particulars of my own home’s fire
safety. Do I have combustibles? Are they stored properly? Are the fire detectors working? How old are the fire extinguishers? What did I do with that lamp that seemed like it was getting too hot? I wanted to go
through the whole place checking for any possible dangers.
In talking to many people about the experience of that day,
I found that a lot of people have little household hazards that can turn into
major tragedies. Is there some nagging
little voice that you’ve been ignoring telling you to put a new battery in the
smoke detector? Do you have a fire
extinguisher? Is there an appliance with
a bad cord you’ve been meaning to replace?
What about that extension cord with way too many things plugged in?
Let’s make this unfortunate loss motivate us to take some action. Let’s give some meaning to this sad event by
making it the catalyst for positive change in our own homes. Let’s review the safety of our homes and
businesses and actually do something to make them safer.
That’s it.
Xoxo
