Evacuate

“We need you all in the garage. Are there any more pets in the house?” the fire chief asked my family, four of five sick with pneumonia, the flu, or strep throat.

“Out of the garage, go to the driveway. Get in your vehicles,” the chief said. We would have gotten in a vehicle if we had time to grab keys. There we were in the driveway, three people and a dog sitting in Geoff’s truck bed, one standing, and one with pneumonia sitting in the back of the sheriff’s car.

A little after 9 a.m. on Friday, March 11, Jess turned on the stove to make oat meal, and noticed an unusually orange flame. Wondering if there was a problem with our natural gas, my mom called the energy company. The company representative didn’t seem too alarmed, but said she would send a community safety officer to check if we had a serious problem. Less than five minutes after the call, two county sheriff deputies came to the door.

“We need everyone out of the house.”

“What? Why? We called about an orange flame.”

“Don’t you have a gas leak?” one asked, shocked we didn’t immediately obey.

“I don’t think so. We don’t smell gas, do you?”

“No, I don’t. Why did you call us?”

“We called the energy company, we didn’t call you.”

Apparently calling a community safety officer means two deputies will book it to your house. Once the initial confusion was settled as to why the deputies came, we waited for one of our town’s volunteer firemen to arrive with his carbon monoxide “sniffer.” However, the next guest to arrive was the fire chief, fully clad firefighting gear.

The chief was sterner, ordering us out of the house, everyone shuffling outside in pajamas. As we filed through the garage and toward our vehicles, we got a better grasp of what was going on. One sheriff’s car, the fire chief’s SUV, and a firetruck were in the driveway. A volunteer firefighter’s personal SUV was parked on the road, and an ambulance pulled in behind the firetruck.

In less than 15 minutes, seven or eight officials took over our house and yard. Of course, they did so to ensure the safety of our family and neighbors, but it was unsettling and slightly embarrassing nonetheless.

We still don’t know exactly why the stove flame burned orange, rather than blue, and we won’t get back the morning we spent in the driveway.

On the plus side:

1.  We didn’t die from carbon monoxide poisoning
2. Our house didn’t blow up from a natural gas leak
3.  I was reacquainted with my former 4-H club president (he's now a fireman)
4. The neighbors have an interesting dinnertime conversation piece
5.  We found out my normally rambunctious dog behaves surprisingly well during a possible emergency

Weird things happen. It’s up to you to see the humor and the positive aspects. And remember, think twice before planning to spend all day in your pajamas. You might spend your morning on display in the driveway.