Sense of humor

If there is one thing each of us needs in order to survive what life has in store, it is a sense of humor.

Good health, support of family and friends – all necessary. But, humor allows us to deal with the rest.

Last Friday, we decided to grill some meat, but when my husband hit the igniter it sent a spark to the tank, and it caught on fire. Thankfully, he was not hurt, grabbed the hose, put the fire out, and kept it on the tank while he turned the gas off.

The fire was out, but the gas continued to leak even after we tried to turn it tighter.

I called the local fire department, and told the lady who answered that we had just experienced a gas fire, it was out, but I needed advice on how to handle the gas still leaking from the tank. She said she had no idea but would send me to one of the Captains to tell me how to handle it.

She sent me to voice mail.

I laughed until it hurt and then realized help wasn’t coming. 🙂

After googling, we hauled it out to an open area, released the valve a little more and let the gas escape. We kept a hose handy in case of an issue, but after a few minutes the tank was empty. I felt guilty about releasing that gas into the air, but the idea of an explosion or a house or barn fire was not an option I wanted to consider either.

About two hours later, a Fire Captain called, expressed his apology for the voice mail issue, and wanted to send one of his guys out to make sure it was okay. I go outside to wait, and what comes down the road but a large, red, fire engine, lights blinking. Thank heavens there were no sirens. Three firemen came to inspect the now empty tank and ask us to go over the story again. When my husband explained how he kept the running water on the tank valve while he turned it, they told him they’d hire him except for the age restriction.

The gentleman in charge said I should have called 911 and not the Fire Department. There wasn’t a fire so I thought calling the department was right, but next time it’s 911. I was already feeling guilty looking at them responding to an empty propane tank and thinking about how they run towards an emergency, and most of us run away.

Moral of the story – if you need help from the fire department you really don’t want someone to send you to voice mail. As it turned out, it sure did make for a few good chuckles as we had a glass of wine that night and shopped for a new grill.

Happy Monday, and here’s hoping you have several chuckles this week but no need for the Fire department. 🚒