Fighting the Fire

In a life surrounded by Autism Spectrum children, you never know what fires you will have to put out from day to day.  All you can do is read up on the subject, prepare for emergencies, and hope you never have to put that practice to the test in the truest sense.  In many ways, you are always alert, at the ready, with the proverbial fire hose in hand.

Thursday was so very peaceful.  Anita had helped me clean up after my natural disasters while two of them, the boys, were at school.  Gabriela followed her around while Nyssa and I went to Marcus for her checkup.  All around, quite a bit was accomplished.  I had been sick earlier in the week with a bad bout of vertigo and still hadn't fully recovered, but by 2 pm Thursday afternoon, it no longer showed in the house.  Anita said her good-byes to the girls and I.  We readied ourselves to get Benjamin from Pre-K.

Little did I know what havoc was about to incinerate most of the rest of our day.  The girls were buckled up.  Nyssa was in the back, in Nathaniel's booster seat.  I considered telling Nyssa to get into her own car seat, but we were going to get her a booster seat this weekend anyway.  Gabriela was buckled directly behind me in her car seat.  I strapped myself in, closed the door, and put the key into the ignition.  The car started and I heard the click of all the doors automatically lock as I put it into gear.  The engine stalled.  I tried again, thinking maybe the battery had drained again, but the minivan started normally.  I put it in reverse, looked in the rear view mirror, released the break, stepped on the gas, and I fully expected to back out of the driveway.  No dice.

I checked the lights, but no warning appeared.  Once again, I turned the key to the off position. Puzzled, I put the vehicle back into park, turned on the ignition yet again, and checked the display panel on the dashboard.  Everything looked and sounded fine.  It was running.  I put it in reverse for the third time and the minivan instantly died.  This time, however, there was a remarkable difference. 

I don't know if I smelled it or saw it first.  The engine was smoking.  Through the front window, I saw smoke rising above the hood and flames dancing underneath it.  From this point, everything happened quickly and in slow motion at the same time. 

I was grateful Nyssa was in Nathaniel's seat because she could unbuckle that on her own.  She always has trouble with the bottom release on her own car seat.  I instructed Nyssa in my "Mommy" voice to unbuckle quickly and get out of the car.  She had already taken off her shoes and was confused.  I told her the care was on fire and we had to get out. 

She tried to open her door at the same time I climbed out and attempted to open Gabriela's door.  Neither one budged.  They wouldn't unlock because of the automatic override.  They were both on child safety mode and could not be unlocked without turning on the car.  The automatic functions were cut off due to the fire.  I pushed my seat forward, climbed back, and unbuckled Gabriela.  Nyssa climbed to the front into my seat and got out through my door.  After getting Gabriela out of the car, I carried her and led Nyssa to the house. 

I told them to stay put as I went back to assess the situation, telephone in hand.  I momentarily considered opening the hood.  I quickly dismissed that half-brained idea when I saw how big the flames were getting.  At the same time, I dialed 9-1-1.  While I was on the phone, Nyssa suddenly remembered her shoes.

"What is your address?"  asked the dispatcher after I alerted her to the fire.

"My shoes!" Nyssa wailed.

I gave the dispatcher our address.

"I have to get them!"

 "I'm sending the fire department to your house now."

"Nyssa, stay here."

"But they'll be gone forEver!"

I held my daughter's arm.  Fortunately, she didn't put up a fight.  "Thank you very much," I said to the dispatcher.

"Has the fire spread to the rest of the vehicle?  How close is it to your house?"

"But they're my favorite high heels!"

"No, it's still contained in the engine compartment.  It's about 7 feet from the house.  Nyssa, if they go up in flames, I'll get yuou another pair."

Nyssa relented.

"A girl's priorities," the woman on the other end of the line couldn't refrain from saying.

"Tell me about it."

"My car," Gabriela added to the conversation.

"Make sure you stay far away from the car; and if the fire spreads, it could hit the house," the operator warned me.

"I need to move away from the house as well, then," I stated more than questioned.

"That would be a good idea."

"I hear the fire engine now," I stated as I heard the familiar siren.

"Ok.  Good luck."

We said good-bye as I sat the girls on the little child-sized iron and wooden bench in the front yard.  I called Richard's work and left a message for him.  He was at a conference downtown but they would be able to contact him.  Gabriela chattered off the names of the African animals embedded in the iron work on the back of her bench.  I instructed Nyssa to keep Gabriela busy there while the firemen did their job. 

We spoke for a moment as they got out the needed masks and necessary hose and started working on the fire.  Nathaniel's bus drove up.  The driver stopped behind the fire engine and I received Nathaniel, explaining the situation to the bewildered driver.  At this point, as if on cue, the police officer pulled up next to the curb in front of our yard and parked his black and white.

Amy from Richard's work called and said she sent him an e-mail; she then asked what she could do, saying she could come right over.  Thankfully, she was willing to assist in getting Benjamin from his school.  I got off the phone with her and turned off the water hose Nathaniel held in his hands as he attempted to help the firemen.  I had to explain to the officer that Nathaniel is on the spectrum and may not completely understand the danger, so we were both keeping an eye on him.  Richard called back and said he was leaving right then as soon as I filled him in on the situation. 

I saw big chunks of something from the car fall down onto the pavement below, burning away in flames.  The police officer said I was lucky the fire didn't start late at night.  He reiterated the dispatcher's assessment, stating himself that it could have burned down the house and the yard if the fire department hadn't been able to respond so quickly.

The firemen had to tear at the hood to open it in order to completely eradicate the flames.  A safety measure under the hood caused the cable to burn so nobody could open it and get engulfed by the fire.  The general consensus by the firemen and policeman was that some electrical wiring caused the mishap.  The engine compartment did a great job at containing the fire.  It did not spread to the rest of the minivan.  They were able to move it back after putting out the fire and spray the burning plastic underneath on the driveway. 

Everything behind the battery was melted or gone.  The air filter was gone.  Off to the left, a quarter of the engine casing had melted away.  I always supposed it was metal.  Not this one, I guess.  The burnt plastic sent its odor wafting around us. 

Amy drove up as I turned off Nathaniel's hose again.  Amy was an absolute sweetheart!  She let me borrow the car to get Benjamin while she watched the others.  The police officer and the firemen left just before I did.  As I was leaving, I saw Gabriela playing in the toy car in front. 

"Fire in the car," she played excitedly, giggling.

Nyssa was glad her shoes did not burn away, Nathaniel contented himself with playing on the slide out back, and Richard arrived home shortly thereafter.  Once she made sure we were all okay, Amy took her leave.  I got on the horn with insurance and the rental car service.

You never know what your response will be in a specific situation until it confronts you.  You never want to be caught in an inflamed vehicle with children who are strapped in and with doors that will not open.  When life throws fireballs at you, you may not be able to put out the fire without assistance.  Sometimes professionals are available to help, such as the firefighters, police officer, and Nyssa's doctors at Marcus. 

We can, however, consider the options of what we can control.  We can help the helpless who are also caught.  We can let them use our door as a manner of escape.  Sometimes the door we have is their only hope of escape.  We can try to help them put the situation in correct perspective.  I'm sorry, Fashionistas of this world, but no pair of shoes, not even Manolo Blancos or whatever his name is, are worth risking going back to that fire. 

Our lives and the lies of others are what matter most, above all this fluff of materialism that surrounds us.  Besides, when you do respond responsibly (see the word correlation there?), you may find in the end that everything is taken care of after all, like Nyssa's precious lack patent low heel shoes with the bows in front.  But even if they had become ashes, they were just....shoes. 

The minivan, yes, it is totaled.  But we are all fine.  So getting another vehicle, though it may not be easy financially, is not the worst thing that could happen.  I'm just glad that fire got put out before it spread to the rest of the minivan, caused an explosion, and took out the yard and the house.  Fortunately, we had some guardian angels watching over us, perhaps one even whispering to Nyssa, "Climb in Nathaniel's seat." 

As for those things we can prepare for, Nyssa knows when I use a certain voice to obey without question.  She may still want to move, but she does listen when I can give her distinct, one step directions.  It payed off this week.  As for practical, concrete preparations, I went out yesterday and picked up booster seats for Nyssa and Benjamin.  They are both big enough, and they can unbuckle their own seat belts now.  You never know when those precious seconds count.