FIRE FIRE FIRE!

So my mom was lonely and wanted some company. We ordered Chinese and she stoked up a big fire in the fireplace. The fireplace was originally a gas log fireplace, but my mother prefers the hassle of acquiring and splitting logs and constantly replenishing them as they burn. Weeks earlier, she had the chimney swept out and the chimney sweep supposedly cut off the gas flowing into the fireplace.

Hours pass, everyone is tired and it is time for me to go home. The fire is dying down...except, well, it's not. The gas jets are back on, and gouts of flame are shooting out. Oh, hell.

Should we turn the valve off, assume that fixes the problem, and risk my mother dying in her sleep from a gas leak? Should we call the chimney sweeping company? Or should we call the gas company? How about the fire department? I know, let's call all three of them!

Four hours of drama ensued, wherein twenty strangers trooped in and out of the house to inspect gas lines and fireplaces and so on. Two hook and ladder trucks arrived, sirens and lights blaring. (I swapped out the audio for something less deafening.)

The gas company sent two dudes with their underwear hanging out to squat in the livingroom and prod the gas valve, but this required me shoveling hot logs and embers into a cast iron pot first. GREAT FUN!

Finally all was quiet and I got to go home and nothing exploded or caught on fire and no one suffocated or anything. HUZZAH!

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• fire
• silly
• short
• firefighters
• gas lines

[dyslexik420]

who puts real wood in a gas fireplace. you`re lucky the whole place didn`t burn down

[AnonyFerret]

Dyslexia is no excuse for not knowing that many people convert gas-burning fireplaces to wood-burning fireplaces. It is not uncommon. The gas company failed to properly cap off the gas line. Gas logs are not as nice as actual wood and don't smell or look as good. We've converted every gas fireplace to wood burning, as have all our neighbors and friends, without incident until this. I guess you don't own a house or know much about fireplaces and that's OK, but your opinion is clearly uninformed.

[callofdutyzombie95]

Thats not a ladder truck...its an Engine...the ladders only respond to 2-alarm or above.

[AnonyFerret]

Good to know. I saw a truck with ladders on the side, assumed that meant it was a ladder truck, and made the non-firefighter terminology error, I guess.

[callofdutyzombie95]

Haha i live in atlanta also

[AnonyFerret]

Well, *I* don't. :) But I hope to move there.

[emprise]

so where any of the firemen cute?

[moronymous]

Wow! Dramatica.

[DeadEnd39]

Pyro anons everywhere just peed themselves.... LOL!

[AnonyFerret]

Totally. A lot of dust kicked up over a minro event. Don't get me wrong, an uncapped gas line leaking into a (converted woodburning) fireplace could have seriously bad consequences. If the gas ignites, it can ignite very enthusiastically and burn the house down. If the gas fails to ignite, it can seep throughout the house and asphyxiate anyone inside.

We took care of the problem, but my levity and goofy video shouldn't hide that things could have gone badly wrong. Check your gas lines, people.

[AnonyFerret]

ALL firemen are cute. I think it is a law.

Note that our friends in the DeKalb County fire services often make a point to drive by during protests and honk / wave.

Maybe it is also a rule that all firemen are awesome.