Have you ever been evacuated from your home?

[Spinneret]

Luckily no

 

[Meriweather]

yes.....looooong time ago. I was 5 and we were evacuated because the creek that was right behind our backyard was flooding.

In college we had to leave buildings several times because of bomb threats.

 

[TippyThomas]

No.

 

[Threehearts]

In a way, yes. We had just moved to a new state and bought our home 3 weeks prior. It was built in the late 1800s and needed renovation which we were about to start. We had 2 little kids, one of whom had significant special needs. On the day of the emergency, we had arrived home at 6:30 am from a previously scheduled vacation. It was a red-eye flight which none of us slept on. We were all exhausted.

It was Easter Sunday and so while everyone went to bed, I made the Easter eggs and hid those. I put together the Easter baskets and started Easter dinner preparation. I must have been so overtired that I made a critical mistake. I prepared stuffing in a pan and wanted to cook it through in the oven so it would be one less thing to do later. I put the stuffing in a pyrex dish and put the oven on SELF-CLEAN! I even moved the little bar across that locks the oven. Obviously, I was out of my mind tired and 350 degrees just didn't happen.

I went to sit down for a few minutes but fell asleep. In the meantime, the oven got so hot that the pyrex dish exploded and flames were inside the stove and coming out the back. I was fully awake when I heard the crash and smelled smoke. Black smoke was everywhere and if you haven't been in a fire, you cannot imagine how almost instantly it spreads. I got my family out to the front yard and called 911. I tried to shut off the gas stove but you can't make adjustments in self-clean mode. The most important thing was that our family was safe so we stood outside and watched smoke coming around the front door which I closed on the way out. I remember all of us being silent and just in shock.

The firemen came quickly, turned off the gas main and put out the kitchen fire. So, so grateful for the brave first responders. Our new to us house was like a disaster zone and we had the restoration company in for weeks for soot, smoke and fire damage throughout the home including clothes .

Interestingly, the fire department did an investigation. They said our gas stove was very old and the seal bringing in the gas had worn and was leaking. That allowed oxygen in to spread the fire. They said if the stove was working properly, the fire would have been contained in the oven. We had a top name for a complete home inspection before buying but maybe inspectors don't check stove connections.

Looking back now, 20 years later, I will always remember my two next door neighbors who I hadn't even met yet. One woman took my children in and fed and entertained them for hours. They still love Mrs. G. My other neighbor rushed over with a variety of pill bottles containing sedatives. She said I could have my pick and endorsed the Valium in particular as it helps her stay calm when the kids are misbehaving. Seems hilarious now and no, I didn't take the pills.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Many years ago, I lived in an apartment and they made us get out because of a suspected gas leak.

 

[barkley]

yes. record breaking snowfall, i happened to be awake in the middle of the night and heard what sounded like gunshots going off. i flashed on a discussion w/my hairdresser about when her deck collapsed due to heavy snow and immediatly before it happened they thought they had heard gunfire. i flipped on the living room lights and saw small cracks in the ceiling. fire deparment came out, glanced up and said 'leave now'.

 

[DL55]

Not a house, but we were evacuated from Yosemite NP. We were staying in the valley when they closed the roads out. Stopped selling alcoholic drinks that night because they knew they were making us leave in the morning. {Lots of unhappy people). Woke up to a notice on our door to leave. One long traffic jam with a section of road with small flames on both sides.