Burning Down The House

So yesterday wasn't the first fire incident I've had.

It was just the first fire incident I've had that wasn't my fault. The first time it was all me.   I was living with my boyfriend and decided that I would surprise him by making dinner.  He used to make these amazing fried potatoes. I don't think I had ever had them until I met him and I thought they were fantastic. So I decided that I would try to make some of those with dinner.  You know, I was going to make a big country dinner spread - really knock his socks off.  Impress him with my dazzling domestic skills.

Well, I didn't exactly accomplish that...

I was in the middle of cooking when I turned to the sink to rinse off a knife. When I turned back around there was fire.  I remained uncharacteristically calm and grabbed some baking soda, like I had always been told, to smother the fire.  I aimed the box and poured.

And the flames shot up.

Just FYI the baking soda thing only works if you have enough to suffocate the fire - otherwise it acts as a fan and spreads the fire.  At least, that's what happened to me.

In the next second is seemed the whole tiny apartment was filled with smoke. Really it happened in an instant. And then I did panic.  I ran across to our really crappy neighbors, who I KNOW were there, but they pretended they weren't home and did not answer their door.

I ran back inside, frantically found our cat and then this guy was just there, in the kitchen.  I actually didn't see him at first - it was too smokey but I heard him yelling something to me. I had no clue what he was saying - I was just wondering where this man came from.

He worked maintenance at the apartments and happened to be walking by when I ran to our neighbors. I never even saw him. But he ran in and put out the fire and saved the day.

The only thing actually burned were the bottoms of the top row of kitchen cabinets but there was black soot in every single room.  Over everything. But the only thing I cared about right then was that I wasn't totally dressed.  I hadn't noticed until then that I had been running around in nothing but panties and a t-shirt. And I don't know why - but to me, in that moment, that was the big deal.

I quickly came back to reality when my boyfriend got home and saw the place. He couldn't have cared less what I was or wasn't wearing - he was just upset that I almost burned down his house...