Close Call
My neighbor’s house burned. An explosion in the garage caused a fire, that quickly became an inferno. Luckily nobody sustained serious injuries. Yet, their house is inhabitable.
My house and garage are only a few meters separated from my neighbor’s garage. My house didn’t catch fire, thanks to other neighbors joining me in spraying my roof and to the San Jose Fire Department who arrived in no time. (Although in the middle of it all, it felt like an eternity.) The fence did burn down eventually, and likely holding back the fire for just enough time. We did get some heat-related damages to the side of the house and the gutter.
It was a very traumatic experience.
I do want to jot down a few important things to remember. As if rehearsed, a number of things went very well:
- Call 911 immediately. At the end, my house was about to catch fire any time. There weren’t minutes to spare.
- Evacuate the house immediately. My daughter left the house right away.
- Move the car from the drive way. This was important, both to ensure the car wouldn’t catch fire, and make space for the fire department later.
- Spray the house with water.
I didn’t think much. I just did them.
There are a number of things I will do more, or more frequently:
- Clean out the gutter, more often. Dry leaves can easily catch fire. Trim plants near the house sooner. They provide a gateway for fires.
- Update the house inventory spreadsheet regularly. I created one a few years ago and once a year add a few things. In case of a fire, this will be important.
- Double check smoke alarm, even before it beeps. The smoke alarms didn’t go off in my house (in part ’cause little to no smoke entered our place). Still I thought they would have been more sensitive and would have triggered.
- Ensure great working water hoses and nozzles.