On Thursday I got the idea in my head that making chalk paint for the kids would be a fun activity to do instead of our usual going to the beach daily outing. Plus I like to mix things up to ward off the boredom. While we were at the store collecting our crafting supplies I came across a pork tenderloin on sale for $3.99, perfect dinner for grilling that night. You can probably tell from the title where this story is going.
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| Parker chalk painted himself |
The chalk paint was easy to make* and kept the kids occupied longer than it took to make so that's a win-win in my book. Much like recipes, I don't do activities that take longer to prepare than actual time spent doing. While the kids chalk painted up the driveway and themselves I threw the tenderloin on the grill. Usually I pull the grill clear out of the garage but since I'd be cooking low and slow for 40 minutes I left it under the garage overhang to give the kids more space for their driveway art. What could possibly go wrong with this scenario?
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| You can see the very edge of the grill propane tank top left |
At first I wasn't sure where the drip, sizzle, whooshing sound was coming from until I saw thick black smoke streaming out every side of the grill. I tried to lift the lid but the heat was too intense. I immediately shut off the burners and risked a superficial arm burn to shut off the propane tank. I did not get burned but ask me how the hair on my right arm is doing.
As I ran to the house I shouted for the kids to stay away from the grill. Inside the house I looked under the sink for a fire extinguisher. While I was staring at cleaning supplies it dawned on me that we had a fire extinguisher under the sink of our old house, not this house. Funny what a potential emergency does to your brain.
I bolted from the house, again yelling for the kids to stay away from the grill that was now shooting flames up to the overhang. As visions of the fire department dousing out my flaming garage ran through my head, I sprinted over to the neighbors house. The screen door was open so I yelled, "Denise! Do you have a fire extinguisher? My grill is on fire!" Lucky for me she came to the rescue. She had a fire extinguisher under the sink. Thank you Denise! Saved the day!
I do not have a before picture, because unlike the picture taking selfie culture we live in today I chose to deal with the emergency instead of take pictures of the emergency. I do have an after picture. This was the scene after one burst of the fire extinguisher**.
Nobody got hurt and there was no damage to the garage but both the inside and outside of the grill paint bubbled up from the heat. There was also a hell of a mess to clean up. The white powder from the extinguisher went everywhere.
Turns out all the grill burners were on high which set the grease pan a blaze. At first I blamed the turning up of the knobs on the kids but when things settled down and I had a little time to think about it I must admit, I in fact turned the grill on high. The high/low settings of our new grill are opposite of our old grill. While I was on the phone with Mom I thought I was turning the grill all the way down when in fact I was turning it to the "burn down the garage" setting. I wouldn't call the fire out of control but it definitely had potential. Which is why I got the extinguisher. Better safe than sorry to see your local fire department 2 days in a row since I had just met them the night before at National Night Out.
Here's an artists rendition of the incident:
As I ran to the house I shouted for the kids to stay away from the grill. Inside the house I looked under the sink for a fire extinguisher. While I was staring at cleaning supplies it dawned on me that we had a fire extinguisher under the sink of our old house, not this house. Funny what a potential emergency does to your brain.
I bolted from the house, again yelling for the kids to stay away from the grill that was now shooting flames up to the overhang. As visions of the fire department dousing out my flaming garage ran through my head, I sprinted over to the neighbors house. The screen door was open so I yelled, "Denise! Do you have a fire extinguisher? My grill is on fire!" Lucky for me she came to the rescue. She had a fire extinguisher under the sink. Thank you Denise! Saved the day!
I do not have a before picture, because unlike the picture taking selfie culture we live in today I chose to deal with the emergency instead of take pictures of the emergency. I do have an after picture. This was the scene after one burst of the fire extinguisher**.
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| Burnt dinner, almost burnt garage |
Nobody got hurt and there was no damage to the garage but both the inside and outside of the grill paint bubbled up from the heat. There was also a hell of a mess to clean up. The white powder from the extinguisher went everywhere.
Turns out all the grill burners were on high which set the grease pan a blaze. At first I blamed the turning up of the knobs on the kids but when things settled down and I had a little time to think about it I must admit, I in fact turned the grill on high. The high/low settings of our new grill are opposite of our old grill. While I was on the phone with Mom I thought I was turning the grill all the way down when in fact I was turning it to the "burn down the garage" setting. I wouldn't call the fire out of control but it definitely had potential. Which is why I got the extinguisher. Better safe than sorry to see your local fire department 2 days in a row since I had just met them the night before at National Night Out.
Here's an artists rendition of the incident:
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| Artistic liberty was taken with this one, no one was actually in the fire |
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| Personally, I think this is the most accurate representation |
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| The grill was not upside down but the flames are about right |
This near garage-burn-down experience taught me a valuable lesson about grilling away from buildings we don't want to burn down. On Friday I bought 2 fire extinguishers (1 for us and 1 to replace the neighbors) and 3 more smoke alarms for the house just because.
Jed was at work when all this happened. I left the fire extinguisher on the counter to see if he would notice. In the morning the kids told him what happened. He said I should have let the garage burn down then maybe insurance would have paid for a new garage that our cars would fit in. Our current garage door opening is too short to fit either of our vehicles. I guess that's what you get when you buy a house sight unseen.
And you know what the kicker is? I went to bed the night of the almost garage fire and left a candle burning on the stove. Jed gets home about 45 minutes after I go to bed so it was no big deal, but still, what the hell is wrong with me? The fire fighters I met the other night at National Night out were cute but not burn your garage and house down cute.
Jed was at work when all this happened. I left the fire extinguisher on the counter to see if he would notice. In the morning the kids told him what happened. He said I should have let the garage burn down then maybe insurance would have paid for a new garage that our cars would fit in. Our current garage door opening is too short to fit either of our vehicles. I guess that's what you get when you buy a house sight unseen.
And you know what the kicker is? I went to bed the night of the almost garage fire and left a candle burning on the stove. Jed gets home about 45 minutes after I go to bed so it was no big deal, but still, what the hell is wrong with me? The fire fighters I met the other night at National Night out were cute but not burn your garage and house down cute.
*Chalk paint recipe: cornstarch, water, food coloring, mix until not stiff. Flaming grill optional.
**My only other experience with a fire extinguisher was with the one we had under the sink of our old house. One day, after a particularly hectic Saturday at Grandma O's (read the kids were up to their usual assholery), we came home to put the Little Kids down for naps. During the chaos of getting ready for naps something got spilled somewhere. I was already in a pissy mood because of the kids behavior at Grandma's so this just put me over the top. As I went to get cleaner from under the sink the most unbelievable thing happened and I shit you not if I wasn't there I wouldn't have believed it myself. As I opened the cupboard the fire extinguisher came tumbling out. When it fell the pin that you pull to enable the sprayer got caught on the handle of a cleaning supply thus pulling it out. Then it fell to the ground directly on the handle causing it to spray powder all over my face. Imagine it. Pissy Mom opening cupboard, extinguisher falling, pin pulled, hits ground, sprays pissy Mom in the face. Everybody but me cracked up. I just saw it as the universe saying, f-you, chill out with the pissy mood. I'd like to say I laughed it off but I'm sure I did not.
**My only other experience with a fire extinguisher was with the one we had under the sink of our old house. One day, after a particularly hectic Saturday at Grandma O's (read the kids were up to their usual assholery), we came home to put the Little Kids down for naps. During the chaos of getting ready for naps something got spilled somewhere. I was already in a pissy mood because of the kids behavior at Grandma's so this just put me over the top. As I went to get cleaner from under the sink the most unbelievable thing happened and I shit you not if I wasn't there I wouldn't have believed it myself. As I opened the cupboard the fire extinguisher came tumbling out. When it fell the pin that you pull to enable the sprayer got caught on the handle of a cleaning supply thus pulling it out. Then it fell to the ground directly on the handle causing it to spray powder all over my face. Imagine it. Pissy Mom opening cupboard, extinguisher falling, pin pulled, hits ground, sprays pissy Mom in the face. Everybody but me cracked up. I just saw it as the universe saying, f-you, chill out with the pissy mood. I'd like to say I laughed it off but I'm sure I did not.
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