We Are Professionals, But Some Things Should Never Be Done At Home

[MalahatTwo7]

Some things just should never be attempted or done in the home - whether you are a "Professional" or not.... Such a thing happened to me the other night.

I was setting up the bathroom for a "romantic bath" and had everything ready to go, unfortunately my "Other Half" was not quite so ready. As a result things kinda got put on hold, with the exception of the fragrance oil burner, which at the time was full and fragrancing nicely.

However, as with most things I do, there seemed to be this detour and the resulting delay allowed the burner to run dry. Of course being the conscientious person I am, figured to fill the bowl just before we entered the bath. Hmmmm sounds like a great idea in theory right?

Who would have thought of how hot that little clay pot could get? I can say in a great humble and booming, clear voice that "I never thought of that." And it's true, the idea never once crossed my mind -until I started to pour......

As a side note to this it should also be noted that I did not have any fragrant oil, so I was using a very expensive men's cologne instead.

Anyway, I started to pour a small amount of fluid into the bowl and low and behold, as with anything cold striking a hot surface, the cologne bubbled and spit. This caused me, in my relaxed state, to jump somewhat because I was not expecting this to happen.

Well the reflex jump caused a splash of fluid over the lip of the bowl, onto some clothing on the counter. Oh and the little blue fireball that narrowly missed my face as it mushroomed just about eye level (I think) was very blue.... Sometime about then, I realized that the clothes on the counter also had a mild blue halo about them.

Naturally I start to attempt to put the flames out, while holding onto the bottle of cologne, which incidentally is also exhibiting a fine blue flame from the open end. Now I have a dilemma... attempt to place the cap on the bottle, thereby extinguishing that flame, or put the bottle down and continue to deal with the now rapidly spreading flames on the counter. Somehow I managed to drop the cap at least 3x, all the while trying to pat out the flames on the counter, and in a calm voice, call for my Other Half for assistance. Something along the line of, "Babe, can you come quick, we have a situation happening here."

Anyway, I did finally get the cap on the bottle (but not before I attempted to put that flame out by blowing on it.. hmm funny how that pretty blue flame will travel to anywhere except where you want it to go) and then continue to deal with the growing fire on the counter, which by this time has now spread to include not only a fairly new uniform shirt but also onto a dress of my Beloved, and a necklace belonging to one of her daughters. Needless to say, the shirt now has a couple of burn holes in it as does the dress. The necklace faired the best, but the leather string will need relacement.

Do I need to mention that my "Backup" nearly wet herself laughing at me? Mostly because I had pretty much dealt with the problem before she actually made it to the bathroom. My reason for calling her was to get her to grab the fire extinguisher that I keep in the tool cabinet next to the bathroom (the washer and dryer are also located in the bathroom). Fortunately we never needed it nor to have to make that dreaded call to IX-II for an E-1 Pumper Assist. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY VERY BAD

Final analysis: DON'T TRY THIS ONE AT HOME!!!

[CollegeBuff]

That's right Malhat- keep "romantic baths" safely within the confines of the firehouse where they belong!!! LOL!!!!

[PFire23]

*hoping I can stop giggling long enough to type this hehehe* Yes, THAT was a hilarious event. I was in the kitchen getting a glass of water when I hear this very calm voice calling me. So I go to the washroom, to find 27 leaning over the counter with a very serious expression upon his face, a hand full of clothes that he's banging repeatedly into the counter top .......... he looks at me and says "Babe, we may have a problem, we have an alcohol burn going on here". So, of course I'm totally oblivious to what has just gone on, he holds up his work shirt which is covered in scortch marks. At this point he's managed to sort of tell me what happened, so I'm ROLLING *literally* on the floor LMAO, cuz it was HILARIOUS. So then he holds up my "favorite" skirt which had been sitting with the shirt and showed me that it too was burned, apparently he was a little concerned that I would be upset by the fact that it was damaged. I just laughed harder cuz it was funny as all get out. And in reality a skirt can be replaced and I was just glad that the fire hadn't gotten out of control and that 27 hadn't been injured in the process. So I've decided that the next time I WILL BE IN CHARGE of any and all special effects in the bath *sigh*

[PFire23]

*hoping I can stop giggling long enough to type this hehehe* Yes, THAT was a hilarious event. I was in the kitchen getting a glass of water when I hear this very calm voice calling me. So I go to the washroom, to find 27 leaning over the counter with a very serious expression upon his face, a hand full of clothes that he's banging repeatedly into the counter top .......... he looks at me and says "Babe, we may have a problem, we have an alcohol burn going on here". So, of course I'm totally oblivious to what has just gone on, he holds up his work shirt which is covered in scortch marks. At this point he's managed to sort of tell me what happened, so I'm ROLLING *literally* on the floor LMAO, cuz it was HILARIOUS. So then he holds up my "favorite" skirt which had been sitting with the shirt and showed me that it too was burned, apparently he was a little concerned that I would be upset by the fact that it was damaged. I just laughed harder cuz it was funny as all get out. And in reality a skirt can be replaced and I was just glad that the fire hadn't gotten out of control and that 27 hadn't been injured in the process. So I've decided that the next time I WILL BE IN CHARGE of any and all special effects in the bath *sigh*

[COFire]

Thats a great one, it's amazing how good intentions can turn into a little disaster zone..... Going along with examples of losing common sense at home, I'll never forget the "garage incident" as I was growing up. My father was a Lt on the dept. and was home working in the garage, He was using a propane torch, had great blue fine tip flame just a rockin outta the tip. To make a long story short, the phone rang, so he sat the torch on the workbench still throwing fire from the tip. My mom was the person calling, and she asked him to run into the house to relay some info from paperwork to her. By the time we started heading back to the garage, the smoke pouring out of the doors revealed his mistake. The workbench where he set the torch still burning is located right below overhead cabinets containing, paints, solvents, laquer thinner, etc.... The tip of the flame from the torch was pending on the bottom of the over head cabinets and as we made our little "attack" fire was a rollin from the cabinets. Luckily it hand't yet penetrated the depth of the wood.

[Steamer]

MSDS information:
Section 5 - Fire Fighting Measures
ALCOHOL

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Fighting Procedures:
WEAR SCBA,USE WATER SPRAY TO COOL HEAT EXPOSED CONTAINERS.
Unusual Fire or Explosion Hazard:
MODERATE EXPLOSION HAZARD WHEN EXPOSED TO HEAT OR FLAMES.
Extinguishing Media:
DRY CHEMICAL,CARBON DIOXIDE,ALCOHOL FOAM
Flash Point: Flash Point Text: 53F,12C,TCC

Autoignition Temperature:
Autoignition Temperature Text: N/A
Lower Limit(s): 2.3
Upper Limit(s): 12.8

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 6 - Accidental Release Measures
ALCOHOL

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spill Release Procedures:
KEEP SPARKS AND FLAME AWAY-PROVIDE GOOD VENTILATION.ABSORB MATERIAL IF POSSIBLE,OTHERWISE FLUSH AWAY WITH WATER.

[FlyingKiwi]

Haloooo PFire.

Could you please report to the bathroom in SCBA and carrying a large CO2 Extinguisher, your other half needs to cool down. And take Two-7 his PPE as well.

OMG, you do not know how hard it is to type when you keep rolling on the floor.

[captstanm1]

That is definitely tooooooooooofunny.... Sometimes we seem to forget the simple things...

Did I miss something? Are 27 and Pfire together as in belonging to each other???

[SPIPER]

OMG I haven't laughed that much since Stayback had the stop sign incident.

[MalahatTwo7]

Well Folks it gives me great pleasure to see that I have been able to provide a source of entertainment for any who have read my original post. I am forced to admit that while I wish I could say that the story was a fabrication of my imagination, that would not be true. The events as written did actually happen and to the best of my memory, in the order they are presented.

Steamer, thank you sooooo much for the MSDS on alcohol. It would have been of great use a few days ago.

And CaptStan: yes the rumours are true. Pfire has joined the "ranks" of Malahat.

[RyanEMVFD]

this story kinda reminds me of the time i used a lighter to open a bag of fish... lesson learned, never to happen again.

[CJMinick390]

My greatest fear in life is having to have my brother firefighters respond to a fire at my home. Just dig a hole and bury me.... My personal best "brain fart" was when I took a 220 pigtail for a clothes dryer and checked to make sure the plug would fit in the receptacle. The only problem was the other end wasn't attached to the dryer yet. I can imagine my guardian angel probably asked to be reassigned after that one.

[StayBack500FT]

ROTFLMAO!!

Methinks I'll hear vveeeeerrrrryyyy little out of you in regard to stop signs from now on!!!

[MalahatTwo7]

Alright Stayback, I accept your terms.... Truce is in effect.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

OMGGGGGGG 27, I haven't stopped laughing since I got home from work .... between you and NJ! I can't believe you called a truce with Stayback LMFAOOOOO

You and PFire .... coooool!!! All the best to both of you.