Monday, May 24, 2010

 

Meeting the Firemen


Travis has been eyeing wanting a gas stove. I pointed out that we don’t even know if we have a gas connection to the stove. So yesterday we leaned the stove forward to try and get a peek. We could not see one, so we deemed it a lost cause. Then, upon leaning the stove back down to where it usually sits, a hissing noise began. Chaos ensued. Travis smelled it, we determined it was gas, I threw the cat into the sunporch and closed the door, grabbed G to take him outside, grabbed the phone and dialed 911, handed the phone to Travis who told them where to come and why.

Funny thing, if you call 911, they do come. We actually did call them back and told them Travis was able to turn the gas off outside at the meter, and they said they would cancel the call. But they showed up anyway, which, let’s face it, gives us better peace of mind. The fireman and Travis went inside, opened up the windows (we’d already opened the doors) and we were cleared to go back indoors by the time they left. While they were doing that I had called the gas company, since even if we stopped the leak by turning off the source, we would eventually have to turn it back on.

As it turned out, we do, definitely, have a gas connection at the back of the stove. It’s down at the ground/floor level, and it was uncapped with only a turn valve on it. When we leaned the stove back down, we inadvertently hit the valve and turned it on. The gas man came and capped the valve, Travis vacuumed behind the stove, I cleaned the sides of it, and G got some outside in the grass time as well as his afternoon nap. Oh! And we let Otto back out of the sunporch. He was grateful – it gets warm out there. All in all, a fine afternoon, with just a glimpse of chaos.


This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?