The Night My Home Almost Went Up In Smoke

“Peter, COME HERE!” Laurel shrieked from downstairs.

Based on the urgency in her voice, I knew this was not a “when-you-have-a-moment” type of request.

Fire

I sprinted downstairs. Thick smoke was billowing from our family room.

Laurel loves decorating. And she does it well. She uses candles in every room and for every occasion – not just one or two, but dozens. In our fireplace, she had created a fall masterpiece with Christmas lights wrapped around fall leaves, little pumpkins, and yes, lots of candles.

It looked charming earlier in the evening. Right now, the decorations were a massive blaze. With the flue shut, the smoke was filling our family room.. and into our kitchen… and throughout the rest of the house. The smell of melting plastic was potent.

Our fire alarms were going off, and we discovered that one of them even eerily announced “Fire. Fire. Fire.”

I rushed to grab a hot mitt to open the flue and allow the smoke to go up the chimney, while Laurel got the kids outside. But the smoke and fire still poured out of the fireplace. This was a major blaze.

Laurel rushed back inside. She grabbed a fire extinguisher under our kitchen sink I had forgotten about. Dousing the fire, she conquered the blaze. Throughout the house, we began scrambling, opening windows, and trying to fumigate the house.

Smoke does lots of damage. We had the fun of repainting our fireplace and washing every single wall over the next few days.

Looking back, I couldn’t help realizing how important that little fire extinguisher was. It’s tiny – and was dormant under our sink for years. I had completely forgotten about it. But in our moment of need, it was critical.

I’m convinced that with HOPE—which operates in places where the fires of poverty blaze regularly—one of the most important things we do is assist families to secure small savings accounts. Though seemingly insignificant on the surface, savings can make the difference between having a problem that becomes a nuisance or a disaster. Between a pothole and a car accident. In the words of my friend Dave Larson, a simple savings account allows families to step away from the cliff of disaster –and creates a layer of protection against catastrophe.

Defended by a small savings account, parents know they can take their children to the clinic when they get sick. They can repair their equipment when it breaks. They can move away from the possibility of tragedy.

Simple and powerful, it has been a privilege to rapidly expand savings programs in partnership with the local church. Together, we are seeing families armed with their own fire extinguishers to protect what matters most. 

For other posts on how savings help the financially vulnerable, please visit:

 

1 Comment

  1. Jeane
    November 12, 2013

    The fake-leaf-garland-and-candle fire quenched by the fire extinguisher was a startling and perfect illustration of what Hope sets out to do: equip. Great post!

    Reply

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