How bad does it have to get before I call 9-1-1?

Those of you who have followed my column over the years know that sometimes I do silly things in the kitchen, and for some reason I enjoy sharing those escapades with you. There's nothing like embarrassing myself in the newspaper to keep me humble.

Over the years while covering the police and fire departments for The Ledger, I've had the opportunity to participate in fire safety training with the Cherokee County Fire Safety Team. You may know these local firefighters. They are most visible when they are walking through our parades dressed up as firefighting clowns.

Local children may remember these guys because every so often they bring a miniature house, referred to as the smoke trailer, to local elementary schools. The children enter the home's kitchen and learn fire safety related to cooking. Before heading into the other rooms of the house where they get additional safety training, they get tips like you should always point the handles of pots and pans inward to avoid possible burns. They are also taught to smother a grease fire by covering it with another pot or pan and to use flour or baking soda to extinguish a grease fire. But don't use water!

Thankfully I remembered most of that training Thursday. (If you are reading this and you are my landlord, you might want to stop reading now.)

I had fried some potatoes in grease the other day and apparently some of that grease got beneath the burner onto the drip pan. So Thursday, I was home alone boiling some water when almost instantly flames began shooting up from beneath my pot.

I instantly thought of the smoke trailer and tried my best to remember exactly what Blacksburg firefighter and safety team member Eddie Bishop said to those kids. All I could think of was, don't use water! I did remember that it was some kind of a white powdery substance that I was supposed to use, and the flour was on the shelf next to me.

I poured flour onto the flames, all the while thinking "How bad does it have to get before I call 9-1-1?" When the flour didn't extinguish all the flames immediately, I began to worry I was using the wrong white powdery substance.

I thought about calling Eddie Bishop and asking him to repeat that part of the fire safety training to me. But knowing Eddie, he would never let me forget that phone call so that was out.

The next thought that came into my head was to smother the flame. I grabbed a pot lid and put it over the fire. That worked until I lifted the lid to see if the fire was out. I guess the oxygen was enough to fuel the flames again.

I was still thinking, "How long can I wait before calling 9-1- 1?"

Then it hit me, I could throw the stove out of the house.

Then I realized how hard that would be. And I thought, "Well what if I can get the drip pan off the stove and put that outside on my concrete steps?"

Carefully, oh so carefully, I used my pot holder to quickly remove the burner. Then, with the kitchen door open, I grabbed the drip pan and put it outside and breathed for the first time since the flames shot out from beneath my pot of water.

While this may not be a "silly" moment in the kitchen, it was an experience I won't soon forget, and hopefully something we can all learn from.

I had a fire extinguisher beneath my kitchen sink, but that never crossed my mind in my moment of emergency. My smoke detector was taken apart off the wall from when I painted my walls.

So tonight, take the time to check your fire extinguisher and make sure it doesn't need serviced. There are also many types of fire extinguishers, so make sure you have the right kind. If you are like me, you might want to make sure it is in a visible location so you don't forget it when you need it. And check the batteries in your smoke detector. That way we can all rest easier.