01/02/2024
2 a.m. and you’re sound asleep. You’re kids are down the hallway and you remembered to shut their door after you tucked them in. You shut your door too. You can’t hear them, but you realize that what would you expect to hear at 2 a.m.? Their room is safe. They can’t fall far off their beds. Their floor is padded carpet. They’ll be ok. You told yourself it’s ok that their door and yours is closed. If they need you, they can come to you. It’s a good thing you listened. 2:02 a.m. and the next thing you know you’re wide awake hearing the smoke alarm going off. Fear freezes you, and you think straight to getting to your children. You bolt for the door and as soon as you open it, heavy, hot smoke pours in and forces you to close it. You can’t go that way. You call 911. You’re able to get out the window. You meet the firefighters in the front yard when they arrive. You tell them your children are in that front window in their bedroom. You did your part and shut the door. The firefighters did their part too. They trained for this exact scenario. They get to work and throw the ladder and get inside that window. No smoke pours out of the window as they go in because the door inside was closed. The next thing you see is your kids being handed to the firefighter on the ladder. They’re crying, but their safe. No burns. No cuts or bruises. They’re perfectly safe. After the fire is out, the Captain shows you through the house and praises you for shutting the door. You see firsthand the outside of the door that stopped all the heat and smoke from hurting your children and you. It’s black and scarred. The inside is almost perfectly white. Almost no smoke got inside. You did your part and closed before you dozed. You gave us, the fire department time, and we did our part. We kept a family together tonight instead of having to tell a mother her children are dead, or a child that mommy won’t be coming back. Good for you. Now spread the word to everyone else. Let’s give every family this chance.
