Fire Extinguishing Heroes

  • Published
  • By Col. "Tip" Stinnette
  • 39th Air Base Wing commander
A married couple wanting to keep their home fires burning decided to install a woodstove in their home. They figured it didn't take a rocket scientist to install this basic bit of heating hardware, so instead of hiring a professional, they brought the stove home and installed it themselves. They even remembered to cut a hole through the ceiling for the chimney vent.

Unfortunately they neglected to extend the chimney through the attic to the roof. Pleased with a job well done, they settled down to a cozy evening in front of the fire and the inevitable happened. The heat and sparks built up in the attic and set their home ablaze. The firefighters extinguished the fire and the couple returned to their home to console each other over the eight-thousand dollars worth of fire damage. Unfortunately the firefighters had failed to fully extinguish the fire, which started up again the next morning, burning the house to the ground.

Some of you may recall that I have written about my fire nightmare in a past article ... the one in which a fire starts in housing and then spreads rapidly across our housing complex. A couple of weeks ago there was a fire on base that many of you probably don't know about thanks to the quick and thorough work of our firefighting team. It wasn't in housing, but the potential for a nightmare scenario was present. The owner of the building is not really important because at the end of the day, once a fire spreads, it puts the entire installation at risk. Last time it was an unattended candle in a bathroom and this time it may have been an overloaded electricity socket. The real point is attention to potential fire hazards. We live together, work together, and will burn together if we don't pay attention. Thankfully this time, we had fire extinguishing heroes living with us ensuring freedom's future!