Fire Extinguisher

Any time I burn in the big fire pit (branches, trimmings, trees) I always make sure I have the fire extinguisher close.  The garden hose is close, too, but the fire extinguisher is kept in the garage and is just as easy to carry out to the fire as is the radio. 

The Mayor across the street always makes fun of me for having it our when I have a big fire.  ha ha the joke is on me, I guess.  He's commented on it multiple times.  It's just an insurance policy. (and if the local fire department would ever stop, I would be playing by the rules.)

Friday night Walt Kowalski has several friends over for the evening.  Telling stories, sitting by the fire on the patio, enjoying drinks.  It was a nice evening. As the gathering was winding down, I went inside to clean up and shower.  It was getting late and I was pooped. (Fridays are always tough.)

I filled and turned on the dishwasher, but there was still pans left in the sink.  Although I don't like waking up to dishes to do in the morning, I was too tired to do them Friday night or by this time, Saturday morning.

While I was getting ready for bed and Walt Kowalski was saying his goodbyes in the driveway, I heard a metal thud. With cats in the house, I figured one of them jumped up to investigate the pans in the sink and they fell over. 

Then I heard Walt Kowalski calling me from the driveway. "Call 911!"
Me: "What?"
WK: "Get the phone and call 911.  Someone hit the guardrail at the end of the driveway."

Ahhhh, that was the thud.  Oh dear.

Me: "{calling} Yes, there has been an accident.  Here's the address. The car is on fire. People are injured.  Yikes! The car is really on fire! Come quicker!"

Walt Kowalski grabbed the fire extinguisher and started to run out the driveway.  He pulled the pin of the fire extinguisher, squeezed the handle and it went: puft. Nothing but air. The charge went from full to empty.  It was dead.

Crap. {Sirens in the distance.  Flames growing}

 
There were three young adults in the car.  They were injured, but able to walk.  They were flipping out, yelling and screaming at each other, and fighting with each other.  (That dark spot on the road in the photo above is blood where one of them was laying down on the road.)

They got out of the car and began to walk away down the road.  Walt Kowalski and were standing in the driveway listening to them. One was on the phone.  We could hear them say to someone "just tell them the car was stolen." And "Man I am messed up." And lots of "It's your fault."

They were walking away from a car accident.  A car accident that was now on fire!

Walt Kowalski yelled down to them "HEY, where are you going? You are injured.  There is an ambulance on the way.  You need to stop and get help."

To which one of the young men yelled back to Walk Kowalski "You called the po+lice?  You called the police!?!! I'm coming up there to kick your ass man!" (Actually, what he said was much worse.  I made it family friendly.)

Walt Kowalski: "Go ahead and try."

Logic: 1. This person is a young adult. Walt Kowalski probably had 100 pounds on him. 
Logic: 2.  He was injured and probably high.
Logic: 3 Walt Kowalski was holding an empty fire extinguisher as a weapon.   
Humor: 1. The front hill is so steep and covered in mulch. I can't climb in it daylight with proper shoes, let alone in the dark with injuries.
Logic: 4 Walt Kowalski was familiar with the steep hill and if this character made it up the hill, Walt Kowalski probably could have just pushed him back down.   

Luckily, we didn't have to try.  When the young adults heard the sirens in the distance, they took off running.  We lost sight of them in the dark. (Next time, remember flashlight.) We think they ran down the hill to a side street, crossed the railroad tracks and the person they were talking to on the phone picked them up on the next street over.

The firemen arrived and extinguished the car.

 
It was a scene.  Ambulances, local police, state police, three different fire departments.  Flood lights and search dogs.

 
We gave our statement and told them what we could remember.  We also heard the officers talking about passengers in the vehicle.  From the description we gave them, they had suspicions of the characters who were involved.  (It is a small town.)

 
A little later we could hear the police talking about a report that a young, badly injured man appeared in the Emergency Room at the local hospital.  At least he got help.

It was a very scary scene.  The tire tracks. The smashed car.  The car fire. Yelling like I have never heard.  The hole in the hood of the car from the fire. The blood on the road. 

Saturday morning we walked out the driveway to see the remains. Just as bad in the daylight.  They are very lucky. 

Sunday afternoon we bought two new fire extinguishers.  Let's hope we never need them.