For the record, I've owned a fire extinguisher almost nineteen years. It's hung in the garage near the kitchen door unused.
Until this week.
First my eldest daughter set an almost-perfect-funnel cake on fire. And while I ran back and forth squealing (I'm stellar in emergencies), she raced for the fire extinguisher. She sprayed the fire (and most of the kitchen) eliminating it. We were all relieved. (Minus the cleaning of powdery goo off every possible surface)
Then last night, I put taco shells in the toaster oven. Apparently the rack was too high and the shells touched the top.
In a calm manner, my son said, "Mom, the tacos are burning."
He has a dry sense of humor, so I laughed.
"I'm serious," he said, pointing to the oven.
I turned to see flames on the inside. I unplugged it, but the fire raged on. My daughter ran for the extinguisher.
Fire extinguishers only work once. Did you know that? We opened the oven door (this time with perfect fire extinguisher aim) and--nothing. Not one poof of powdery substance. The flame lapped up and out of the oven.
My daughter once again, came to the rescue. She doused the toaster oven with a bucket load of water. And me. And everyone else. But once again, she saved the kitchen from going up in flames. We decided she might have a future in firefighting.
The odd thing is, three weeks ago I randomly bought a new toaster oven. Maybe it was a premonition.
Wish I'd bought an extinguisher too.