FIRE!!

Yesterday, while still in jammies, just after coffee, we began to smell something burning in our house.

The smoke alarms were quiet, there was no smoke. The animals were calm.

I, on the other hand, was freaking out, at least on the inside.

Our house burned when I was seventeen, and once that happens, it changes you. I don't think about it much anymore, but boy, I was thinking about it yesterday morning.

Husband and I commenced to feel of walls, outlets, floors, ceilings and everything else that would stand still. Nothing felt hot. The switch box seemed fine. The attic space was cool and odor free.

I called the fire department and explained. A very nice guy said he'd send someone out.

A long time went by - maybe a half hour. Finally a guy (the same one I talked to on the phone, turns out) pulled up in a big red truck with a few lights around the hood.

He had this neat little sensor in his hand. It looked like a small TV on a stick. Anyway, it detects hot spots inside walls, or floors, or ceilings. He found none.

The smell was almost gone by now. He asked questions about the dryer (hadn't been on), the heat (yes, we'd used it numerous times already) and if all the lights worked. We went through the house and turned on every lamp, which is a big job in my house.

He said he was still worried, but couldn't do anything else. He also warned me, that if the smell came back to call 911, explain everything that had transpired. "We will decide if it's an emergency. If you had called 911 to start with, someone would have been here in a matter of minutes.  Instead, I had to round up a truck, and then wound up having to come myself. If you called 911, it's a first responder and everybody hops to it."

I meekly agreed to do this. We went about our day. Then last evening, it started getting chilly, so I went to the thermostat and turned the heat up. Guess what? The smell, oh, the smell.  It was worse; stronger than before.

I quickly turned the heat pump off altogether, and we aired out the downstairs a little. This morning the smell was still present, but faint.

So early today, before coffee, we (read Husband) hauled the portable heater downstairs and plugged it up. It got the temperature from 62 to 65 in the living room, which is quite acceptable.

We also have the fireplace if needed, so we'll be okay until Monday morning when a serviceman is supposed to call and come.

Thank God our house is still standing.

Thank God.