Stoking the Fire

It's a lesson I should have learned long ago as a child. Maybe I'll share THAT one some time in the future. For now, dig this...

Last night, in a vain attempt to stoke a fire in our fireplace, I did something stupid. Well, you could say that trying to light a soaked log that had been outside in the rain was stupid in and of itself, but this just makes it even more so. Fortunately I wasn't hurt. Much.

I've had some success in the past by using melted candlewax on the wood/paper mixture. Since this log was fresh from the outside, I felt that it needed some "encouragement". The lighter I'd been using had stopped working, and I noticed that there was some fluid still in its reservoir. That ought to stoke the fire, I thought. So I put it on the pile in the fireplace.

I resumed the dribbling of melted candlewax. Then, all of a sudden... WHOOOSH!! A "bubble" of flame burst from the fireplace long enough for me to notice -- then it was gone.

"AAAGGH!" I cried out, in shock. Apparently the plastic reservoir containing the lighter fluid had melted. I looked around me. Fortunately, nothing was on fire. I noticed that most of the hair on the back of my hands had been singed off. I checked the bathroom mirror, and I saw that my eyelashes were shorter now, having also been singed. A small part of my beard, too.

I could have ended up like Fire Marshall Bill from "In Living Color".

And though the material in the fireplace lit up for awhile longer, it still went out after a few minutes.

That manufacturers place warnings on flammable containers is a good thing, therefore, and these should be heeded.