SOMETHING VERY DANGEROUS HAPPENED TO ME AND MY FAMILY TONIGHT WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN DEVASTING!.....I WAS MAKING A BOLOGNAISE SAUCE EARLY THIS EVENING AND HAD BEEN HAVING TROUBLE WITH MY OVEN TOP LATELY BUT DIDN'T GIVE IT MUCH THOUGHT AS I TURNED THE DIAL TO OFF TO QUICKLY TAKE MY SON TO TAEKWONDO ( A 45 MINUTE LESSON) AND LEFT WITH ALL 3 KIDS..... ( I USUALLY SIT IN THE VAN WITH MY DAUGHTER AND JAMES UNTIL HARRY FINISHES HIS LESSON).....AND WHEN THE LESSON WAS OVER WE MADE A STOPOVER AT OUR LOCAL PETROL STATION TO BUY MILK AND BREAD....AS I PULLED UP IN OUR DRIVEWAY AND GOT OUT OF THE VAN...I HEARD MY SON, HARRY, SAY 'HEY MUM CAN YOU HEAR THAT? IT SOUNDS LIKE OUR SMOKE ALARM!' AND JUST AS HE WAS SAYING THAT I HEARD IT TOO..... IT WAS FAINT AND WASN'T ALL THAT SURE THAT IT WAS COMING FROM OUR UNIT...I TOLD MY DAUGHTER TO GRAB THE SHOPPING BAGS AND TO COME UP WITH JAMES AS I BEGAN PANICKING AND RUSHING TO THE FRONT ENTRANCE TO THE BUILDING, UNLOCKING AND RUNNING TO THE TOP FLOOR AND ALL THE WHILE THE NOISE LEVEL WAS INCREASING AND THE SMELL OF SMOKE BEGAN TO GET STRONGER AS I REACHED THE TOP I REALISED THAT IT WAS COMING FROM OUR PLACE!!!!!! I COULD SEE A BIT OF SMOKE COMING OUT FROM UNDER THE DOOR!!!!.... I QUICKLY UNLOCKED OUR FRONT DOOR AND AS I OPENED THE DOOR I BEGAN CHOKING BECAUSE OF THE THICK SMOKE IN THE UNIT!!! I WAS SO SCARED!! I RUSHED IN TO THE KITCHEN AND SAW THE HOT PLATE WAS BRIGHT RED AND THE CASSEROLE POT WAS FULL OF SMOKE (LUCKILY I HAD THE LID ON IT AS IT WOULD'VE BEEN A DIFFERENT OUTCOME....A FATAL ONE). I TRIED SWITCHING OFF THE DIAL (EVENTHOUGH WE HAD SWITCHED IT OFF BEFORE WE LEFT!) I TOOK THE POT OFF THE OVEN TOP AND OPENED THE LID TO TAKE A LOOK AND IT WAS BURNED AT THE BOTTOM.... I TURNED THE RANGEHOOD ON AND GOT THE KIDS TO OPEN ALL THE WINDOWS AND BALCONY SLIDE DOORS AND SLOWLY THE SMOKE BEGAN TO DRIFT OUT OF THE UNIT....WHILE MY DAUGHTER WAVED A PILLOW UP AT THE SMOKE ALARM TO MAKE THE SMOKE ALARM STOP AS IT PROBABLY HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR THE WHOLE TIME THAT WE WERE GONE!!! ( OUR SMOKE ALARM GOES OFF WITH THE SLIGHTEST DETECTION OF SMOKE OR HEAT!!! IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A PAIN WHENEVER I USED THE TOASTER OR BAKED A DINNER IN THE OVEN... BUT THIS TIME I WAS PRAISING THE ALARM AS IT REALLY SAVED US TONIGHT!!!!)
AFTER THE SMOKE CLEARED AND THE ALARM FINALLY STOPPED... I STOOD THERE IN THE KITCHEN SHAKING AND TRYING TO BREATHE AS THE SMOKE WAS ABIT TOO UNBEARABLE AT THE TIME.....AND SUDDENLY BEGAN IMAGINING WHAT COULD'VE HAPPENED IF WE HADN'T BEEN THERE ON TIME!! AND OTHER CRAZY SCENARIOS!!! I BEGAN TO CRY AND FELT LIKE I WAS GOING TO FAINT FROM SHOCK!!!
MY OVEN IS ALWAYS PLAYING UP AND TONIGHT WAS A REAL EYE OPENER THAT SOMETHING HAS GOT TO BE DONE ABOUT IT!! I TRIED TO SWITCH IT OFF AT THE DIAL BUT NO MATTER WHICH WAY I TURNED IT...IT WOULD ALWAYS REMAIN OPEN ON FULL!!!!! SO I HAD TO SWITCH IT OFF FROM THE POWER BOARD SINCE THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO DO IT!
IT HAPPENED BETWEEN 6:30- 6:45PM THIS EVENING AND IT IS NOW ALMOST 11PM AND I AM STILL SHAKEN UP!! I REALLY FEEL SO RELIEVED THAT WE ALL CAME THROUGH IT OK.... WE ENDED UP ORDERING FROM PIZZA HUT.... AND I JUST CLEANED UP THE MESS IN THE KITCHEN... THAT CASSEROLE POT NEEDS TO SOAK OVERNIGHT ....SO I CAN CLEAN IT IN THE MORNING... I HAVE A TOUGH JOB AHEAD OF ME IN THE MORNING BUT I DON'T MIND AS LONG AS WE STILL HAVE A ROOF OVER OUR HEADS AND EVERYONE IS OK.....THANK GOD!!!
