It’s always a good idea to have a fire extinguisher on hand at home, if not several. But if you’re like me, you’ve never actually used one. Here are some important steps to remember:
-Work fast! The typical fire extinguisher has as little as eight seconds of life
-Keep your extinguisher near an exit so you can back out as you fight the flames
-Pull the pin (like a grenade)
-Aim the nozzle at the base of the flames
-Squeeze the trigger
-Sweep from side to side
-Don’t assume the fire is out just because the flames are gone
-Call 911 and wait for the fire department to give you the ok
Now, I’ve never set anything in my home on fire. The worst I’ve ever done was destroying a coffee table, not by fire, but by sitting on it. I was a teenager and it was one of those wooden ones with wheels on the bottom (fancy, I know). I sat on it and broke one of the wheels off. Not wanting to get in trouble, I tried to fix it before my parents came home. I drilled a new hole in the bottom, screwed the wheel in, and spray painted the base black to match the rest of the bottom.
Even with my sweet home improvement skills, that thing was just one nudge away from breaking again. So, I waited for my dad to come home and him to “break” it. He did, and angrily called the manufacturer demanding they send him a new one as “this one is made like crap!” Long story short, we ended up getting a brand new table. I guess my fix-it skills are better than I thought!
So if you break a coffee table with your butt, feel free to utilize my experience. If you set your house on fire, use the extinguishing tips above. Good luck!
-Laura,
Guest Blogger
