fire 🔥

a fun account about the portable aircon unit in my room catching fire. If we had noticed it 60 seconds or so later this would be an entirely different update.....

At about 1 pm on Sunday 11 February, my visiting uncle and I were on the couch while my mum, aunty and other uncle were out getting lunch supplies from the supermarket. Our family whippet, Laika, was also on the couch, looking alert as usual. He enjoys being the first to greet visitors, listening for the car and gate so keeps an active ear and eye out for any familiar car sounds. 

My dad was walking around the house, looking at corners and crevices, he usually does this once a week. I didn’t think much of it because he usually does this from decades of having a keen eye for maintenance and upkeep. Dad is particular and persistent, he was sniffing and saying something smelled like burnt plastic, he suggested “Maybe someone is angle-grinding outside or burning something off”. I knew he wouldn’t sit down and relax till we found out what the smell was…

So I got up from the couch and also began to smell burnt plastic. I walked down the hall the smell got stronger and stronger. I opened my bedroom door and the portable aircon unit (which was off but on standby mode) was billowing smoke and was on fire. I yelled “fire” and my dad and uncle were a few feet behind me. The smoke alarm started to go off and my uncle went straight to the kitchen in the next room and filled up an ikea bin full of water. I grabbed the dog, went outside and called 000.

Laika, the family whippet.

The reception was patchy and it must have kept cutting out because I explained more times than I felt was needed that yes indeed there was a fire. We got there in the end. I then ran to my neighbour’s house holding onto Laika’s collar. Not knowing what the efforts of my dad and uncle had resulted in, I wanted to make sure Laika was safe, out of the way and I could go help without having our boy in danger. There was no answer so I went back to our front yard to wait for the firefighters. Smoke was coming out the front door and out came my uncle to tell me “It’s all sorted”.

Melted air con.

By this time we could already hear the sirens and it was too late to ring back and tell them it was all good. It was more dramatic than it needed to be with two fire trucks and about ten firefighters at the house. I called my mum who was still out with my aunty and other uncle, I said: “Hi mum, my bedroom was on fire, when you come back you will see smoke coming out of the house and two fire trucks, but don’t worry I am outside it’s fine and I am outside with the dog”. She came home with my aunty and other uncle two minutes later. Laika ran straight into the back seat to his haven while we sorted things out.

The firefighters were great, they didn’t mind at all they didn’t have any fire to put out and were glad we were all safe. They were encouraging that we had called and they responded regardless.

It was a moment where you laugh or you cry, we laughed and also went through some what-ifs…

I had been spending the last 72 hours entirely in my bedroom wrangling the post-first chemo treatment side effects. Some of the side effects I was experiencing included reduced mental awareness, nausea, lack of sleep, reduced sense of smell and taste, dry mouth etc. I had this portable aircon running the last few days while resting to keep cool. We think that when I opened the door it provided oxygen to the fire, If this had happened at 1 am and not 1 pm while I was sleeping with the door closed it could have been a different story (especially if I was in the thick of it with the chemo effects), it could have also been a different story if we were all out of the house. It could have been a different story if the fire caught onto the curtains which were very close to the aircon unit.

My bedroom smells like burnt plastic and so do my clothes. A fresh coat of paint on the walls and a thorough wash of my clothes will easily fix that. There are lots of different scenarios that could have happened, but we all just smiled and were glad that my dad, my uncle and myself all worked in some sort of perfect sync. We all did well in the instant roles we played over the 15-20 minutes, we didn’t run into each other or get hurt, the house didn’t burn down and it all worked out.

Dusting myself off and taking it all day by day for whatever comes next.