Ok, what a beautiful day! The sky is clear. The temperature is moderate. There cannot be a better spring day for a cookout. My brother, Josh, today, bought a new grill. It was not one of those big fancy grills. Rather, it is just one of those simple, low-to-the-ground inexpensive gas grills. It is very appropriate for our apartment situation.
According to our apartment policies, we must grill at least 15 feet away from the apartment building. I guess that is to prevent any accidental smoke or fire damage. Right outside our porch area is a small island of grass between the sidewalk and the parking lot. There are parking spaces on the other two sides of the island. Beside the grass, there are two small trees with pine needles at the base for landscaping. Stupidly, I thought that this would be a great place to grill out.
I had only place the burgers and brats on the grill for a couple minutes when I thought that I would run inside really quick to grab something. Just as I walked into the apartment door, I looked out the sliding door to see flaming grease falling from the bottom of the grill into the dry grass. Oops! Not good!
I shout and ran out the door of the apartment and rounded the corner in time to see the grass ablaze. It was quickly spreading in all directions because of the wind. I rushed to it and began to stomp it out with my bare feet. There was too much fire. My brother brought me a pitcher of water. It might as well have been a small toy squirt gun. The small amount of water was no match for the blazing fire. My brother, Josh, too, began to help me stomp out the flames. But we needed more. The flames had already ignited the dry pine needles and were climbing the small tree in the center. On the other side, they had reached the curb and were licking at the bottom of the brand new car parked there.
I began to stomp those flames out by the car, when I remembered that I had not moved the grill. It was engulfed in flames. The gas container was covered with fire. I grabbed the grill and moved it to the sidewalk. The thermometer read almost 600 degrees. (I think that it was then that my head hair, eyebrows and arm hairs were singed.) The fire was still spreading rapidly.
Suddenly, Josh came leaping over our porch rail from the apartment with the fire extinguisher which I had forgotten was in the apartment. Hope filled my heart. “We might actually have a chance.” Josh emptied the extinguisher putting out most of the major portion of the fire. However, there was still a lot of fire that still needed to be put out. I continued to stamp out the fire as Josh grabbed the other extinguisher, which was expired but had not yet been removed from our apartment, and put out the rest of the flames. Once the flames were extinguished, Josh and I poured water (provided by our fabulous fiancées) on the smoldering areas that still remained.
While we stood there exhausted, we heard the sound of fire trucks approaching. Two and later three trucks pulled up to put out the reported fire. Other residents who had been gathering curiously, went back to there apartments. One man with a fire extinguisher in his hand from across the parking lot stopped and returned to his apartment. All was well.
I am thankful to the Lord for protection and safety. Other than grass and pine needles, nothing of any importance was burned or scorched by the flame. However, I am sure that a new rule will be added to the apartment’s policies with our name on it. Thankfully, this is better than a memorial on an ash heap with our name on it.
This is “grace at work”
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