We were talking about smoke detectors earlier today... about how a family that was burned out of their home, lost their son and all of their pets, had no working smoke detectors. This brought back a memory to me of the old woodstoves that heated the homes of our parents and grandparents.I remember once when I was very young, watching Dad put out the fire in our old woodstove because the stove pipes were red hot. He had just finished and stepped away when the stove pipe collapsed. Hot soot went everywhere. Once it had cooled and he had swept it up, he was able to put the stove pipes back together and wire them to the ceiling. What a mess. Mom spent the next two days cleaning soot from everything in that kitchen and soot is not easy to clean up.
It leaves an oily film that's very difficult to remove. But Mom used her Lest*oil and did a fine job.
Back in the day, there were no such thing as smoke detectors. Luckily, we never had a fire, but I remember that close call so many years ago. If it hadn't been caught in time, our woodframe house would have went up like a tinder box.
Today, we have hot-wired smoke detectors in our house. They are wired to a separate panel than the rest of the house and they have battery backup in case of a power outage. Yet in this day and age, there is a less possibility of fire than there was back when I was a child and everyone had woodstoves.
Please remember to keep the batteries in your smoke detector changed every six months. It is far less costly than losing your home, pets or loved ones.
Please keep Lucinda and her family in your prayers. The funeral for their 11 year old son was today. He was overcome by the smoke in the upstairs hallway and succumbed to the smoke. His mother, father and 17 year old brother are overwhelmed with grief.
That is so sad. Thanks for the reminder on smoke detectors. Praying for the family.
ReplyDeleteImagine how your lives could have been changed had your dad not been there and acted quickly.
ReplyDeleteWhat a tragedy...I remember how hot those pipes would get, too.
ReplyDeleteRecently, heard on the news of a house fire where the dog managed to wake the man and he woke his wife after some difficulty, they went out through a window because the fire had already reached their bedroom...two other dogs died in the fire.I don't know if there was a smoke detector or not...they were lucky to have the dog to wake them else they would have died too.
I'll lift this family up in prayer today.
Mama Bear
What an incredibly sad story - smoke detectors are so vital, and keeping them with fresh batteries is so important!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear of this family's loss!
ReplyDeleteI remember my mom telling me about their wood stove when she was growing up and how easily something could catch on fire from it. So very sad to hear that another family has been affected by fire...losing your home is bad enough but to also lose a child in unthinkable. So many times we hear of a fire around here and then learn later that they had no working smoke detectors in the house. People have to learn that they are there to save lives!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Happy Valentine's Day, dear Mary:-) Make sure you come over to pick up your Valentine!! xoxo
We had a wood cookstove too and I remember the soot. Oh my goodness it was awful to clean up. I have a smoke detector too. Thank Goodness.
ReplyDeleteIt is very sad when someone loses a life in a fire but for it to be a young child with his whole world ahead of him is unconsolable. I know too well how devastaing a fire can be as our homes burned 3 times. The second one, Mother woke me but I was so tired, I rolled over and went back to sleep. Mother ran back into the house and literally threw me out of the bed and I was a rather stocky teenager. We change the batteries in our smoke detectors at the same time we change our clocks for daylight savings time and again when we go back to standard time. Peace
ReplyDeletehow terrible!!
ReplyDeleteSo sad for the loss of the young boy. Prayers for the family. We had a fire in the wall when we were using a wood heater. I knew something was wrong. I felt the wall several times before I went to bed. I had hardly got on the bed when the fire alarm in the laundry room went off... and not even a second later the one in the hall went off...I yelled for my husband to get up...we were lucky... the smoke was in the attic. We called the fire department and they had to chop into the wall to get at the fire. No wood heaters in our house anymore. It cannot be said enough... Keep those fire detectors working.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. I thought it was every year. I'll be replacing ours every 6 months from now on. :)
ReplyDeleteG'day Mary!! Today, for the first time in weeks, I've sat down and read my Google Reader. You hadn't emailed, or stopped by to visit with me at my blog, so I made sure I checked here in the Reader to see if you're okay!!!
ReplyDeleteHope all is going well for you and your family. Bud and I have been keeping ourselves busy from sunup to sundown lately and I don't spend much time online these days.
Happy Spring to you.
I have a wood cookstove in my kitchen. In the Winter I cook on it sometimes. I love it but I am always aware of the hazards. I have not only fire detectors but also a very large fire extinquisher in the kitchen plus a special one for chimney fires.
ReplyDeleteIt is so tragic when house fires kill people. Such deaths can be prevented.
Mary?!! Are you okay? I've had you in my thoughts for some time now...wondering how you're doing? Emails have come back to me...not delivered to you. :o(
ReplyDeleteOh how awful! Prayers going up for that family. I can't even imagine...
ReplyDeleteSince I can't get emails through to you any more [don't know what's up with that.....again!!] ---anyway, this is the only resource I have to keep in touch. Hope you're doing well, and just extremely busy with family, yard, and your Etsy shoppe.
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