A few years ago my life drastically changed when I had a kitchen fire. I had a work man doing up my bathroom and I was cooking chicken nuggets while sitting on my laptop.
I was blissfully unaware that my kitchen was on fire even though I was sat right next to it.
The workman came into my living room and asked if something was burning and that was the moment I took my eyes off my laptop screen and saw the room was smoky.
The workman opened my kitchen door and all the smoke came out. He was brave and went in to turn the cooker off and opened the windows. He then told me we had to leave.
I stood in the middle of my living room waving my arms about in a panic before I started to make my escape.
As we got out my flat and onto the corridor I told him to leave without me and to ring for help. I had to go back in for my cats.
I think at this moment all I could think about was saving them so without a second thought I rushed back into my burning home.
My cats were safely in my room as I had closed them in there to keep them safe while my bathroom was being worked on.
I remember grabbing Neko first and throwing her out the window (I live on the ground floor and I knew I had to throw her in order to give myself time to get my other cat.
Neko seemed to understand the situation and stayed put outside as I went to grab Cody. He cried and jumped back in after I threw him. This made me panic and I had to grip hold of him tightly to prevent him from running back in the room. I remember screaming at him that he was an idiot and the flat was on fire before throwing him out and closing the window.
I had to do it. It was the only way I could save them.
I then made my escape and waited for help.
After the fire had been put out I had to talk to the firemen and they explained I’d caught the hob on, but I didn’t care at that moment because I wanted to see my cats.
I found my cats in a cupboard outside. Neko had been guarding Cody and they both cried as I picked them up and cuddled them.
I had to leave my cats with my neighbour for the night as my home was full of soot and unsafe. I stayed at my mum’s house and they couldn’t come because my mum has bad allergies.
I remember crying myself to sleep as I worried about them and missed them.
Eventually I got my home back and a new cooker but I just couldn’t settle. I felt like everything I knew to be safe had changed.
I used my new cooker a few times before mentally breaking down and refusing to use it. I was seeing smoke every time I used it.
I got to the point that I couldn’t turn the TV on or the lights because I thought they might set on fire.
I was in such a high sense of alert that I could smell and hear everything. If upstairs burnt their food I would smell it and it would set me off into alert mode.
My fridge was making well fridge noises but now I deemed that unsafe and turned it off and refused to use it.
What did I have left? I could barely feed myself. I wouldn’t turn the heat on either and I would be freezing and starving.
I had to live off take out and sandwiches and my health started to pay for it.
The after effects of one fire has caused a huge chain of reaction in my life and it will never be the same.
I gained weight, I have vitamin deficiencies, I can barely walk and now I am being tested for fibromyalgia and CFS which may have been brought on by this event.
I did start to fight back last year though. I bought a microwave and screamed at it and turned it off constantly during cooking that it broke. I bought another and tried again. I powered through it by having my mum on the phone. She listened to me cry and scream and panic many times as I cooked a 4 minute meal. Eventually I started using the microwave on my own and then I built up the courage to use the heating, turn on the lights, the heating, hoover, play on my PlayStation. Then the final step arrived.. a cooker.
There was no way I could use a full size oven. I had, had so many nightmares Every time I thought about it.
Near Christmas when my fiancé was over my mum rang me. She asked if I would want a mini oven for Christmas. I said yes without thinking as I knew if I let it linger I wouldn’t get it.
My mum let me have it before Christmas as my fiancé was here and that would help me use it.
Well, here goes round two I guess because this time I was crying and screaming at my fiancé while cooking.
Now a few months later I’m still using my cooker but making my fiancé watch the food cook with me over video call.
Everything seems to be going well and I’m truly putting up a fight then BOOM! The wall around a plug socket in room is getting warm.
There’s a radiator on the other side of the wall and the lamp was on when I noticed it. It could be that it the pipes in the wall but my mind won’t have it.
I rang the council to ask for an electrician to come see it. They told I had a 3 week wait. I cried and begged them to come sooner but they won’t.
Now I’m constantly feeling the wall, barely sleeping, slowly creeping back to take out to avoid cooking and the nightmares are back.
I’m relapsing. I’m losing everything I worked so hard for at such a rapid rate.
I don’t want to go back living how I was. I can’t take it. It was pure hell. I can’t go back to living in a constant state of fear but it’s coming back. I see the smoke again when I cook, I hear every noise, smell every smell and I cannot focus my mind or relax.
I’m scared that after the electrician comes I will continue this behaviour. They have left me too long and I’m slowly going back.
I do believe that they should have considered my health and tried to push the appointment sooner.
If any one does read this, thank you. I needed to get this off my mind and knowing that someone read it till the end is really nice. Thank you.
I was blissfully unaware that my kitchen was on fire even though I was sat right next to it.
The workman came into my living room and asked if something was burning and that was the moment I took my eyes off my laptop screen and saw the room was smoky.
The workman opened my kitchen door and all the smoke came out. He was brave and went in to turn the cooker off and opened the windows. He then told me we had to leave.
I stood in the middle of my living room waving my arms about in a panic before I started to make my escape.
As we got out my flat and onto the corridor I told him to leave without me and to ring for help. I had to go back in for my cats.
I think at this moment all I could think about was saving them so without a second thought I rushed back into my burning home.
My cats were safely in my room as I had closed them in there to keep them safe while my bathroom was being worked on.
I remember grabbing Neko first and throwing her out the window (I live on the ground floor and I knew I had to throw her in order to give myself time to get my other cat.
Neko seemed to understand the situation and stayed put outside as I went to grab Cody. He cried and jumped back in after I threw him. This made me panic and I had to grip hold of him tightly to prevent him from running back in the room. I remember screaming at him that he was an idiot and the flat was on fire before throwing him out and closing the window.
I had to do it. It was the only way I could save them.
I then made my escape and waited for help.
After the fire had been put out I had to talk to the firemen and they explained I’d caught the hob on, but I didn’t care at that moment because I wanted to see my cats.
I found my cats in a cupboard outside. Neko had been guarding Cody and they both cried as I picked them up and cuddled them.
I had to leave my cats with my neighbour for the night as my home was full of soot and unsafe. I stayed at my mum’s house and they couldn’t come because my mum has bad allergies.
I remember crying myself to sleep as I worried about them and missed them.
Eventually I got my home back and a new cooker but I just couldn’t settle. I felt like everything I knew to be safe had changed.
I used my new cooker a few times before mentally breaking down and refusing to use it. I was seeing smoke every time I used it.
I got to the point that I couldn’t turn the TV on or the lights because I thought they might set on fire.
I was in such a high sense of alert that I could smell and hear everything. If upstairs burnt their food I would smell it and it would set me off into alert mode.
My fridge was making well fridge noises but now I deemed that unsafe and turned it off and refused to use it.
What did I have left? I could barely feed myself. I wouldn’t turn the heat on either and I would be freezing and starving.
I had to live off take out and sandwiches and my health started to pay for it.
The after effects of one fire has caused a huge chain of reaction in my life and it will never be the same.
I gained weight, I have vitamin deficiencies, I can barely walk and now I am being tested for fibromyalgia and CFS which may have been brought on by this event.
I did start to fight back last year though. I bought a microwave and screamed at it and turned it off constantly during cooking that it broke. I bought another and tried again. I powered through it by having my mum on the phone. She listened to me cry and scream and panic many times as I cooked a 4 minute meal. Eventually I started using the microwave on my own and then I built up the courage to use the heating, turn on the lights, the heating, hoover, play on my PlayStation. Then the final step arrived.. a cooker.
There was no way I could use a full size oven. I had, had so many nightmares Every time I thought about it.
Near Christmas when my fiancé was over my mum rang me. She asked if I would want a mini oven for Christmas. I said yes without thinking as I knew if I let it linger I wouldn’t get it.
My mum let me have it before Christmas as my fiancé was here and that would help me use it.
Well, here goes round two I guess because this time I was crying and screaming at my fiancé while cooking.
Now a few months later I’m still using my cooker but making my fiancé watch the food cook with me over video call.
Everything seems to be going well and I’m truly putting up a fight then BOOM! The wall around a plug socket in room is getting warm.
There’s a radiator on the other side of the wall and the lamp was on when I noticed it. It could be that it the pipes in the wall but my mind won’t have it.
I rang the council to ask for an electrician to come see it. They told I had a 3 week wait. I cried and begged them to come sooner but they won’t.
Now I’m constantly feeling the wall, barely sleeping, slowly creeping back to take out to avoid cooking and the nightmares are back.
I’m relapsing. I’m losing everything I worked so hard for at such a rapid rate.
I don’t want to go back living how I was. I can’t take it. It was pure hell. I can’t go back to living in a constant state of fear but it’s coming back. I see the smoke again when I cook, I hear every noise, smell every smell and I cannot focus my mind or relax.
I’m scared that after the electrician comes I will continue this behaviour. They have left me too long and I’m slowly going back.
I do believe that they should have considered my health and tried to push the appointment sooner.
If any one does read this, thank you. I needed to get this off my mind and knowing that someone read it till the end is really nice. Thank you.