February 8, 2007 10:49 AM
Just another adventure in motherhood
What started out as a snow day with the kids home from school - Maddy watching Gone with the Wind to perfect her Southern accent for her upcoming role as Becky Thatcher in a musical about Tom Sawyer and the rest of us trying to work up the courage to go out in the freezing cold to sled - took a different spin when I smelled gas.
I had actually thought I smelled gas the day before, but ignored it because I thought I was being paranoid. Note to self: sometimes paranoia is good for you :)
Now with the kids home, and the heat, the gas dryer, and the stovetop going full tilt, I smelled it again - but now was able to ask Sophia what she thought. She smelled it to.
I looked up the non-emergency number in the phone book to call my local volunteer fire company. when I told them my suspicions they said to call 911.
I really did not want this to be an emergency. I've been through a couple things in California where a simple visit from a fire marshall could have handled the problem but we ended up with several fire trucks and a horde of firemen in our driveway.
Since we live in the country, it took them quite a while to get here. In the meantime, I hustled my kids out to the van and cranked up the heat to wait, hoping for a quiet, unobtrusive visit from the Fire Marshall. Instead we ended up with four fire engines - one from our local Hamilton Volunteer Fire Department and three from Purcellville - plus an ambulance.
A swarm of yellow-suited firemen then swarmed into our house while I imagined them trying to negotiate the complete disarray we had left behind in those thick suits. When they ran upstairs would they bump all the pictures off the walls? I mean, those fireproof suits are THICK!
The captain came back briefly to advise me to call my gas company on my cell phone. Have you ever tried calling Amerigas? Here is the menu:
If you are calling to start service, press 1.If you are calling about your bill, press 2
If you are calling to report an emergency, press 3.
(I press 3)
If you are calling to report an emergency, call your local office.
Click.
I kid you not.
How could I call my local office when I'm sitting outside in my van with my cell phone and don't know what town my office is in so can't get the number from information.
But the Fire Department has more clout than a woman with six kids and a dog in a van. I had just given up on Amerigas when the Captain came out to tell me they'd discovered the cause of the smell: our propane tank was empty.
Okay, let me see if I understand this: Your tank is full, you don't smell gas. Your tank is empty, you smell gas.
Feeling kind of like Alice in Wonderland puzzling over the pills, I followed the Captain's instructions to wait while they opened all the windows in our house. From the time we had the screens made, I remember there are 32 of them.
It was about 16 degrees outside.
A few neighbor kids had come out at the first sight of the fire engines. In the van, my girls were mortified at having so much attention drawn to us. Finally, after about 45 minutes, we were allowed to go back into the house.
The Captain had called Amerigas and they were already on their way. I was really glad he placed the call because I’m sure that’s why there was someone there within an hour to check out our situation and someone else there within two hours to fill our tank.
As the Purcellville engines began packing up their hoses and moving out, I grabbed my camera to take a picture. This is one way with four kids with Down syndrome we communicate between home and school – the teachers take pictures of what goes on there and I take pictures of what goes on here to stimulate conversation. So I was taking a picture of the trucks
when the Hamilton fireman asked if I’d like to set some shots of the kids on the truck.
I sure did!
Jesse, who is very reluctant about new experiences would have none of it. Justin was hesitant, but brave as you can tell from his serious face.
(By the way, little children are expecially at risk during fires because they are afraid of the firemen in their formidable gear and so hid instead of being rescued from a fire. That's why fire departments spend a lot of time trying to help kids feel more comfortable by visiting schools and holding open houses. Read more at Fire Safety)
Daniel got into it a little:
Jonny was, as usual, in complete charge of the situation.
Thanks to the wonderful teams who came to our rescue. I certainly appreciate knowing that you’re there!
PS: We never did go sledding. Too much cold and quite enough excitement for everyone here, thank you very much!
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Comments
Our gas man told us that they put a "fragrance" into propane gas (which we use), and when the gas tank is close to empty, the fragrance is "condensed" and you can smell it very strongly. So, when I am cooking on our gas range, and it smells like gas, I know to check our tank and call for a refill. (If it helps, I thought "huh?" the first time they told me that!)
I'm glad everything is okay!
Posted by: Kathy F. | February 8, 2007 11:10 AM
Not laughing at the possible gas leak, but chuckle at the thought that may have crossed the firemen's minds...."Did that lady call us out here for some entertainment?" lol. Such cute pics. I'm glad there were no leaks!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Shannon Best | February 8, 2007 11:38 AM
My father always used to say "Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you..." When it comes to gas, those are words to live by! Glad everyone was OK! Bonus points for getting the kids pictures with the fire truck. With so much fear of strangers (rightly so) anything we can do to help make kids trust firemen is VERY important!
Posted by: Sandy | February 8, 2007 11:48 AM
So often your posts bring a tear to my eye, and the fire engine pictures of your boys did just that.
Also, you have such wonderful opportunities for your children regarding acting and singing. Wow! Learning the southern accent to be Becky Thatcher. Way to go, Maddy!
Posted by: Carol | February 8, 2007 11:53 AM
Wow-- how fun for the kids!
And BTW, my oldest 2 kids were in the musical version of Tom Sawyer and loved it. It was their first play. (My husband was the narrator) Spenser was Ben and Reed was a paper boy (even though she is a girl, LOL) We still sing the ongs-- they are very catchy!
~Leslie
Posted by: Leslie | February 8, 2007 12:06 PM
Wow! That sounds like just TOO much excitement! The pictures of your boys in the fire trucks are just adorable, though!
Both my brother and my step grandfather are/were firemen. One thing you can do to help your children overcome their fear of firemen in their heavy gear is to take them to the local fire department for a visit and let your children actually try on their gear while there (with permission, of course!)! Take LOTS of pictures so that they will have a chance to see how they look bundled up in all of that heavy gear. Big fun. ;)
Posted by: Birdie | February 8, 2007 1:34 PM
Omg...those pics are too cute! I'm sure the kids had a ball with all that excitement!
Gone with the Wind....my all time favorite movie! I named my daughter Scarlett. :-)
Posted by: Linsey | February 8, 2007 5:16 PM
HEY -- our propane company has a keep full deal. If we keep it full then we pay less and then it's never empty. (Sounds profound)... but maybe this is why they do that. We pay less anyway... so we do it. Sure -- why not?? He comes around about every 6 weeks and tops us off. ;)
I DID know that about children being afraid of firemen. THANKS to our homeschooling co-op... we got to get acquainted with some firemen. They put on their suits and their scary noisy breathing apparatus... let the kids touch them, hear them, get photos taken with them. Asked the kids to never hide from them. So that must be a common theme. Too bad huh.
Neat learning experience at your house -- thanks for sharing with us.
New to your blog... but not to you -- I've read, "Meet me in the Laundry Room"... given it away even, because I liked it so much. THANKS for sharing part of yourself with all of us! I subscribed to your blog... going to come back and visit again soon.
I may just buy some diapers through you -- NEAT DEAL! ;) (See if they beat my COSTCO deal!)
Posted by: ~*~ Jennifer~*~ | February 8, 2007 7:31 PM
Way to turn a scary situation into a learning experience!
Okay, I'm calling the gas co. tomorrow for a refill!! I smelled the gas just before I read your post!
Also, one year, we had a fireman b-day party for my then 4 year old ds. They CAME TO OUR HOUSE! They gave all the little boys a tour of the truck, and did the safety talk, and then let them all SPRAY THE HOSE!!! They got to play in the water,too. (This was in May) Yes, that was the coolest b-day party of the summer!!
Glad y'all are fine; cute pics!
Posted by: Meg | February 8, 2007 8:40 PM
Oh WOW, what an experience!!! Those pics are GREAT!!!! Thanks for sharing!!! And interesting about the info on kids hiding from fireman....I hadn't thought of that, BUT when I read it, I realized how TRUE it is! One time we were at a park as it was hitting dusk. Samuel was running around having a good ole time, when he took a corner, and almost ran into a policeman - he did a 180 in .002 seconds SCREAMING "mommy!!!!". He was terrified! He still talks about that policeman that "he didn't want to help him"!!! And policemen don't have NEAR the gear that firemen do! Hmmmm....I see a good lesson/talk in store for us! Thanks again!
Posted by: shawnda | February 8, 2007 9:47 PM
Hi Barbara,
I stumbled across your blog today as I was searching on "down syndrome" and "teens".
I love the pictures on the firetruck! Jonny has gotten so big!
Posted by: Jodi | February 11, 2007 10:09 PM
