The day was doomed from the get-go. I left work and had a missed call from #bud. When I called him back he said, “Fine time for you to call me back now, I had to get the neighbor to help me!” The code pad for our gate is damaged from a hail storm, so if you don’t have a clicker…you can’t get in. He couldn’t wait for me to return from work, so he decided to hop the fence. And got trapped in the wire…and hurt his leg…and was laying on the ground like a potato bug. Thank goodness for helpful neighbors.
Fast forward 30 minutes I am bathing the kids, Jeff is at work, Nance is cleaning the kitchen…all of a sudden Nance hears: “TRACTOR’S ON FIRE! TRACTOR’S ON FIRE!” I am in the back bathroom and didn’t hear the commotion…but, boy did I see it. Flames shooting up. Too close for comfort to our barn/shed and fence posts. Kids crying. Dogs barking. Nance running around like a bat outta h*ll. They hook up the water hose. Try to contain the flames, but they were just too much. (I really do sound like a reporter here).
Nance yells to me: “CALL 911. CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT! THE BARN IS GONNA BLOW!” I call 911….I’m thinking…great, here it goes out on the scanners and into our newsroom, “um, yes, Shanisty Ireland called in a fire. We need several units dispatched to said address.” I will say this much…the people at the Fayette and Bourbon County dispatch were very nice. Okay- back to the flames…
Bud is hosing down the fire. Nance is telling him to get the side of the barn wet. Bud is yelling, “who made you fire chief!?” Kids are finally out of bath and clothed, still crying. Dogs still barking.
The reporter in me wanted to get cell phone video so badly. The mother in me said, no stay with your kids…they might be scared. Dang you, motherhood. I did snap one pic when the flames were somewhat contained.
Finally, I walk outside with Eden and Bud yells “FIRE’S OUT! CALL OFF THE TROOPS!”
Too late- here comes the Bourbon County Fire Chief down our driveway. Then another Fire Chief, from a neighboring volunteer fire dept. When they saw our situation, they get on their radios and turned back 5 units. Literally, 5 fire trucks were on their way to our house…hindsight, when you call in a “tractor fire very close to a barn,” remember you live in Kentucky where the words “tractor” and “barn” translate to: massive commercial tractor near a million dollar horse barn filled with livestock and Derby winners. Not exactly the case at the MyerLand residence. Shame on you, reporter, for trying to sensationalize a story…but, I digress.
Both fire chiefs were super cool and at the end…Bud had both of them rolling. Typical.
When the flames cooled and we could assess the damage, Bud told us what happened…he filled the gas tank up, without a funnel, when he fired up the mower (which we call a tractor) there was a small spark. The dried leaves and gasoline quickly ignited the flames. Luckily, the news crews didn’t show up at the scene. And luckily, Bud didn’t burn too much of his arm hair off trying to put out the fire.
Back to reporter jargon: Authorities tell us the official cause of the fire is still under investigation…when I spoke with the homeowners they tell me they’re just thankful to be alive.
And, off the record…I am very thankful #bud didn’t make the 11:00 news.
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