I spent the ENTIRE DAY cleaning my house! I woke up and skipped breakfast to get a head start on what I knew was going to take me all day. The Christmas decorations! While I love having a lovely Christmas-y house, putting everything back in it’s place just feels….Ahhhhh, nice!
I gathered all the rugs, shook them & washed them fluffy clean. I vacuumed and swept my whole house. I scrubbed bathtubs, sinks, mirrors, floors and even managed a few loads of laundry as I went.
Bottom line? My house was spiffy clean and smelled like heaven.
Until tonight. My hubby made a rockin’ fire in the fireplace so we could enjoy the cozy while watching a movie. {We actually had a fire going, he just brought in some SUPER WOOD} SEE–>
I didn’t have a good feeling when I saw this blaze of glory. So, I snapped a couple pictures innocently. Then, the smoke came. Strong and heavy until it ran us outside. I happened to look back and this is what I saw next….
I could hear a strange sound coming from that side of the house. I honestly thought my hubby had come out to do something. So I walked over to that area and that’s when I could really see the embers flying. THE CHIMNEY WAS REALLY ON FIRE!!
I realize this is difficult to see….but to be truthful, I was starting to flip out and it was dark. There was a real fire going on in a dangerous spot that needed attention RIGHT THEN!
Hubby went straight to the roof with a huge bucket of water. Ally ran to the back of the house to get a waterhose (which was almost frozen). We moved a huge ladder by our scrawny selves (Uhh girl power)! I had to block the fireplace opening with huge towels to try to dampen the blowing smoke. Epic fail. Smoke will fill your house–no way to keep it out! 🙁
Finally, it was out!
It was discovered to be a problem that might not have been found had we not been putting on a movie. Back in the summer, hubby repaired some of the bricks with a special poxy type substance. When he added a large amount of highly flammable tree debris the high/hot flames ignited this poxy to a dangerous degree. A DANGEROUS FIRE ENSUED!
I’m so very grateful that we were there when it happened. We’ve had several fires this winter, matter of fact…we had been burning one all day. Something about the size and substance turned very deadly within a matter of seconds. I feel like we’ve been given a gift.
My house burned to the ground when I was 11 years old. I was home with my mom and newborn baby brother. There was nothing we could do but watch everything we own go up in smoke. Neighbors helped us rescue our dogs. I’ve never forgetten that fear. It started in our fireplace.
You can bet… I’ll be sleeping with one eye open.
Please beware of dangerous fires in your home. Even innocent ones in your fireplace can turn deadly. After getting things under control, I couldn’t stop thinking of the family in Connecticut. How easily everything could have turned deadly.
