My dear cousin Lisa (who never seems to learn where these things get you) asked:
"What? I need to know about the Nacho Fire Incident! Sounds… eventful!
Do tell."
So I had no choice but to respond:
Oh ... it was a doooosey!
We had my friends' daughter with us - Talen was babysitting .... We went to Fallbrook and played and played ... thought we'd heat up a pizza when we got home. Then it turns out Sven had eaten the pizza we thought was in the freezer so we settled on nachos.
A big, 9x13 inch pan chock full of nachos ...
So I put the nachos in under the broiler about the same second that Bella asked for help with the knitting she was trying to get started ... (yes, cue ominous music) I went to help her and of course it had to be completely re-done ...
After only a few minutes (I swear!) of undoing, I asked Noah to check on the nachos.
"Mom. They're on fire."
"What?"
"On fire, mom. Like with flames."
Crap! I jumped up and ran for the kitchen to find, sure enough, a 9x13-shaped fire in our oven. The chips were completely engulfed and had flames about 6-8" high curling up and out of the oven. Our really high-tech fire alarm starts blaring. I realize we have about a dozen sprinklers in our apartment about to go off and destroy everything we own.
I thought, "Fire needs air." and shut the oven door.
I opened the door to check. Apparently our oven isn't really airtight (especially with the door open) because that fire was burning along merrily.
So I grabbed a dish towel and thought to smother said fire. I also thought, "This isn't very smart. What if the towel catches on fire?"
THEN it occurred to me that we have fire extinguishers in the hallway. So I pull it together like a crisis-trained lifeguard: "Noah, run down the hall and get a fire extinguisher." Yep, assign a task to an individual (Do I have to ask Talen to call 911? No, not yet.) and get them on their way. It's the Lifeguard Way.
Talen arrived in the kitchen a moment later. I say in my most authoritative voice, "Talen, you go with Noah. Help him hurry." She runs.
As the door shut behind her, another thought crosses my mind: "Water puts out some fires."
So I grab a 2-Quart Batter Bowl (God Bless the Pampered Chef) and head for the sink. As it starts to fill (rather slowly, I think to myself over the rather incessant screeching of the fire alarm) I realize that if I toss this bowl of water onto the nachos that are burning away quite happily in my Pampered Chef 9x13 Stoneware Baking Dish (the one with the fabulous French Vanilla finish on the outside) it will probably break.
Now, that wouldn't do.
But we have spray bottles under the sink. I open the cupboard and try to recall which of them are empty, which are filled with (flammable) cleaners, and which might have water. Luckily I had my plant water spray bottle right there with it's happy little green and yellow top. And it had water in it. So I picked it up, turned around, and spritzed a few squirts of water onto the by now burnt-out wreckage of cheese and tortilla chips.
Ahh. I pause a moment.
Oh yes.
The kids.
I open the door to the sight of Talen running frantically down the hallway, fire extinguisher in hand, Noah right behind.
And I yell, "Water! WATER puts out fires!"
Talen stopped, turned quietly, and returned the fire extinguisher to it's cubby.
Crisis well-managed, I'd say.
Now lets hear the story from my persepective:
ReplyDeleteSo im babysitting my TEACHERS daughter. Thats right, a person I see everyday and I am supposed to try and impress constantly, yeah - her daughter.
Well if you have read my mothers blog, you can clearly see that she get obsessed with anything that sparkles, right now, thats knitting needles.
Anyways, so she has been trying to force knitting down my throat for a while now (and let me just tell you, I have remained strong and rightfuly refused) but basicly every now and then I give it a try. But since my babysitt-ie seemed extra interested, I decided to help her.
Now my mom makes it sound like SHE was so entertained with what my babysitt-ie was doing she forgot about the nachos. However, I am hear to declare that this is wrong. She got interesated in HER knitting. What a mother, right?
So Noah this whole time is keepign himself busy doing something other than knitting. My mom politely asks him if he would check on the nachos (and it was more than a "few" minutes).
Hw walks over to the oven, still thinkig about whatever he was thinking about, opens the oven and says ever so calmy:
"Mom, they're on fire." and let me just say, for those of us who are knitting, he said is SO calmly, we thought he was kidding.
"What!?!" replies my mother.
"The nachos. They're on fire. Like with flames."
My eyes widen. I dont think I have ever seen my mother move that fast (thats a lie. you ever get that woman pissed? jeez, she'll get after you like a, well like a pissed off mom).
So she jumps up and runs to the oven. As I make MY way over to the oven I declare to myself that indeed, these nachos are on fire.
"NOAH! Go get the fire extinguisher! GO! Now!"
(If you know Noah, you would think he would respond somehting along the following:
"Do I have to?"
"Ugh, FINE. Let me get my shoes on."
or just a plain
"No"
But surprizingly enough, he started running down the hall.
Now, this is still Noah we are talking about. Not only did he pass the fire extinguisher right by our door, but he also passed the one halfway down the hall.
My mom must have remembered we were tlaking about Noah here, cause she sent me down after him.
I of course I get to it, grab it, and run back toward the house.
It was then that my mother peeks her head out of the door (I can hear the fire alarms blaring) and continues to say;
"WATER! Water puts out fire!"
My thoughts during this time:
"Ugh, Duh?" "Oh god my mother." and of course, "How stupid I must look in my pj's holding a fire extinguisher."
Thats the story from one of the runners points of view.
If only you knew how surprised I was when I read my mothers view and saw that she didnt use that Pampered Chef bowl FILLED with water to put out the flames because she didnt want to ruin her pan.
I repeat, be warned: MY MOTHER IS SUCH A DORK!
This had me rolling! (Remind me some time to tell you the story of how I nearly caught my old apartment on fire while trying to BBQ chicken...)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, glad to hear that everyone was safe after the "incident."
Now, on to more important things...where are pictures of the beautiful puppy of yours!!