Kitchen Fire

Yesterday I started our kitchen on fire!  We are SO DARN LUCKY that T was home... otherwise we might have had a house fire on our hands.  I had a pan of oil on the stove to cook T's out-of-this-world chimichangas... and forgot about it!  We were also cooking up some hot dogs on the barbeque outside, so we were back and forth from the garage and the kitchen.  I remembered about the oil and ran inside to see smoke rising from the pan.  I took it off the burner and it immediately burst into flames!  T told me to take it outside, but I panicked and dropped it on the floor - right onto our kitchen rug - which of course, just started right on fire!!  T then yelled at me to GET OUTSIDE which I did promptly... then realized that T was holding Anna inside.  OH MY HECK!  I couldn't go back in the kitchen door where the fire was, so I sprinted around the house and back inside to get Anna from T.  Owen was already out the front door and standing by the tree in our front yard...such a good little boy!  The tree is our designated spot to meet in case of an emergency.  T grabbed the extinguisher and put out the fire, but our house was full of smoke, oil, and the mess that extinguishers make.  I am extrememly grateful that there was no real damage...and glad that I had a "practice" run in case it happens again.  I can see how fast a house can burn right down.  If T hadn't of been home, I would have gotten the kids out and safe with a neighbor or something before I even attempted to go back in with a fire extinguisher.  And I have never actually USED an extinguisher, so it would have been a bit slow and shaky I'm afraid.  By that time the whole living room would have been engulfed!  

So the moral to this story is...#1 know where your extinguishers are and how to use them, #2 remember to get your kids out before you do, and #3 don't leave oil on the stove on high and walk away from it!!