beatrice_otter (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
beatrice_otter) wrote2018-01-21 01:37 pm
beatrice_otter) wrote2018-01-21 01:37 pm
Almost burned the church down
So today church was a little more exciting than normal, and we almost burned the church.. down!
We were going to have a potluck after church, right, so before service everybody goes down and puts their food in the kitchen, plugs in the crockpots, puts some things in the oven to keep warm, etc., etc. And somebody set something (not sure what) on top of the stove just because it was a place to put something.
This stove, by the way, is like sixty years old. It dates from when the church was rebuilt when it burned down in the early fifties. But since it's only used for potlucks a couple of times a year, it's still working. And the knobs are kinda touchy. And somebody must have bumped one, because it was on. And it set the stuff sitting on the burner on fire.
Thank God one of the members smelled something and went down in the middle of service to check on it, saw it on fire, and was able to handle it.
Unfortunately, the fire extinguisher in the kitchen, while not quite as elderly as the stove, was still far more elderly than it should have been, shall we say, so she had to grab the pan with the fire in it and drop it in the sink. (And thank God it wasn't a grease fire!) Nobody else knew anything about it until service was over, but she was definitely the Hero Of The Day.
We were going to have a potluck after church, right, so before service everybody goes down and puts their food in the kitchen, plugs in the crockpots, puts some things in the oven to keep warm, etc., etc. And somebody set something (not sure what) on top of the stove just because it was a place to put something.
This stove, by the way, is like sixty years old. It dates from when the church was rebuilt when it burned down in the early fifties. But since it's only used for potlucks a couple of times a year, it's still working. And the knobs are kinda touchy. And somebody must have bumped one, because it was on. And it set the stuff sitting on the burner on fire.
Thank God one of the members smelled something and went down in the middle of service to check on it, saw it on fire, and was able to handle it.
Unfortunately, the fire extinguisher in the kitchen, while not quite as elderly as the stove, was still far more elderly than it should have been, shall we say, so she had to grab the pan with the fire in it and drop it in the sink. (And thank God it wasn't a grease fire!) Nobody else knew anything about it until service was over, but she was definitely the Hero Of The Day.
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There's something to be said about God's intervention, but as an atheist, I'll just say, phew.
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But yes, definitely new extinguishers are in order. God helping those that answer the clue phone and all.
At least the bumping happened while someone vigilant was about to resolve matters not just prior to all hands leaving the building.
Whew!
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But yes. New extinguishers will be there by next week. New stove will probably happen sometime this year.
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Yay, new fire extinguishers! Will they be ABC? (aka good for all fire types)
Good thoughts about replacing the stove, vigilance until then. Still vigilant after, but extra aware with the knobs on this one.
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Oh man, there's something lucky going on. I'm also laughing about the fact that she saved the day and then didn't say anything until services were over.
It really is good to hear that everyone is okay, including the church, and it was dealt with fairly easily.
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As for the fire in the 50s, it was simultaneously the best and worst time for a fire. See, they had JUST FINISHED REMODELLING the church when it burned down. All that time and effort and money? Poof! Gone! So instead of the really nice updated version, they had to just go with the bare bones "this is what we can afford" version. Terrible luck, right? But! Since they hadn't moved back in and re-dedicated the sanctuary yet, all the furnishings and precious things the church owned were not moved into the building yet, so it was all saved. Which was great luck.
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I suppose there was no good time to announce it, really. :) I'm just glad it all ended as simply as it did.
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