Fire Fatality
Every person should think about his or her safety. Fire incidents are not as rare as they might seem. I understood that after I heard the story my friend John told me.
He was doing his math homework while his mother was preparing dinner, when suddenly they heard cries and a loud noise. John ran out of his room to find out what it was all about. He was told that a neighborhood house was in flames.
John ran to the house and saw the whole ground floor of the building on fire. The neighboring family was just standing on the road crying. The children looked frightened while the adults shouted helplessly. A small crowd had gathered and men were throwing water and dust. John took a rod and started beating the fire. Unfortunately, the weather was windy, so the fire gradually spread all over the building.
John shared his impressions with me much later, but he was still shocked. The people lost their belongings; everything they owned was destroyed and became heaps of ashes. It seemed that the columns of smoke were seen by the entire town and no one could help them.
The time slowly passed and someone called the fire station. Firefighters soon came and started their work immediately. Special equipment helped them control the fire. The firefighters tried their best, but it took more than two hours to extinguish the fire. Two of them were injured; others looked tired but were satisfied with the result.
The nice two-story house was completely destroyed. The lawn was trampled down. The remains of pots, bricks, glass, and wood created a surrealistic sculpture. It was evident that it would take years to rebuild the house and put the surroundings to rights. Luckily, no one died, but the picture of devastation was horrible.
John also felt frustrated; he could not understand how something like that could happen. He wanted to know the reasons of the fire, so he studied the report column in the local newspaper and found out that a short circuit caused a spark, which made a piece of clothing catch on fire. Apparently, something was wrong with the electric wiring. The insurance company awarded partial damages, but it was not enough to cover all the related expenses.v
It is hard to say that the fire occurred because of carelessness. Nevertheless, most fires usually do. Every year, many accidents result in the loss of human lives and property. The most important thing is to know what every person should do in that situation in order to stay alive and help others effectively. John and I completed the Firefighters 101 course, and now we feel more confident.
