This Is Not a Drill

Published on 12/8/2020, 2:25:00 AM

Updated on 12/8/2020, 2:25:37 AM

Be Prepared

We were just putting the kids to bed when I heard the fire siren go off for a call. Out of habit I looked out the window and saw a volunteer driving through what I originally thought was fog. Something seemed wrong about the fog. I quickly realized it was smoke from a fire. Way too much smoke for a burn barrel. I scanned the area and noticed an orange glow out of the corner of my eye. It was a structure fire near our house. Way too close for comfort.

Abby wrote about this night on her blog yesterday titled, “Three Fires”

Initial thoughts

Charlotte was in the room with me when I first saw the fire. It was hard to put on a brave face when it was so frightening. So many thoughts ran through my head. Where’s Abby and Seamus? Is our house in danger? Do we still have time to get to safety if we are in danger? Should we stay or should we go? I have always taken pride knowing that in a real emergency I can keep my head and get things done.

This was, thankfully, no exception to the rule. I knew there was no way the kids were going to be able to sleep. I didn’t know if the fire was going to spread to the trees that connected the house on fire and ours. We sprang into action getting the kids ready to go. We could replace the house but not each other. The fire was far enough away that we left the cats behind.

Now What?

Our amazing volunteer fire fighters were on the scene quickly. Abby and I decided our best option was to leave the house with the kids. There was no immediate danger but with fire and trees we were not going to wait and find out. The kids were awesome listeners and got ready as fast as they could. You never know how you are going to react to a situation like this until it happens and I think we did great.

In the Clear

It took what seemed like forever to get out of our driveway. There were so many cars driving slow to gawk at the fire. As it turns out, I get annoyed very quickly when you hinder my escape from a dangerous situation. We drove a few blocks over to regroup and make sure we have everything we needed. We didn’t. In our hasty exit from the house, we forgot our masks. I normally have one in my pocket at all times for scenarios exactly like this. Not my proudest moment.

After stopping at the house for our masks, we drove the kids around for a bit while we thought about what to do next. We filled the car up with gas and figured it was safe enough to go back. The scanner traffic had calmed down and the fire crews were working hard. We stopped in the parking lot across the street from our house to make sure things were safe for us to return for the night. The fire was still going strong but it was almost under control at that point so we decided to return home. Charlotte took some encouraging and reassurance but eventually she felt better about everything.

After the Dust Settled

The more I think about that night, the more I am certain we did the right thing. If the fire had spread through the trees, there was a good chance of it catching multiple houses on fire and overwhelming our firefighters. I will always err on the conservative side when it comes to safety and dangerous situations. I hope my kids practice that as well.

Raise Them Right

I practice and teach fire safety to my kids every chance I get. When my employer offered first aid and CPR certification at work, I took it. In Boy Scouts our motto was “Be Prepared”. I keep that in my mind every second of the day. When there’s toys on the floor I tell my kids to keep a path open for the door. It is one of the reasons why we clean up after we are done with something. When we had to leave in a hurry the other night, we didn’t have to worry about tripping over anything.

In the Moment

We practiced a philosophy of “Get out then figure it out”. We knew there was danger and we knew our best bet was to put some distance between us and the threat. I listen to the Jocko podcast and one of his big points is the Laws of Combat. That night we executed that perfectly.

Cover and Move: while one of us was getting the kids ready, the other was getting things ready to go.

Simple: get out of the house, leave in the car, and get to a safe place to regroup.

Prioritize and Execute: should we stay or go? We chose go.

Decentralized Command: at no point did Abby and I have to debate about what to do next, we knew what needed to be done and acted on it swiftly.

Final Thoughts

We are safe, our house is safe, and our cats are safe. That is the important part. Everything else was minor in comparison at that moment. If you haven’t recently, check your smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. Think and practice your plan for an emergency like a fire or car accident. Take a first aid and/or CPR class. Seconds count in an emergency and you being prepared could make the difference.

NOTE: Everyone was able to get out of the house fire safely and are being helped by the American Red Cross.

Have a good one and thanks for reading.

Image Credit

Photo by Dawn Armfield on Unsplash

#RideAndSurvive #BePrepared

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