Have you ever saved your own life?

Fizzlesque wrote: »

By time my boyfriend got to my flat, I was sitting there with a blackened face, a melted telly, and a flat full of smoke, grinning most peculiarly, and smoking a cigarette.

Fizzlesque wrote: »

Years ago I lived in a lovely high-ceilinged flat with a little mezzanine floor which is where the bed was. One night, when I went to bed, I put a tea-light candle on the television so my boyfriend, who was working late and was going to come stay with me after work, would be able to see in the dark (the main light switch didn't work). Stupidly, I didn't put the candle in a candle container or on a ceramic saucer so it eventually got really hot and melted the plastic telly top, which, in turn, allowed the candle to slip into the telly and set it on fire.

Meanwhile, I'm snoozing away totally unaware.

Eventually I woke up, when I heard myself comment on the smell in my dream (twice) and I quickly realised my television was blazing away, with the flames inching ever-closer to cane blinds and the fabric I had attached to the cane blinds. Leaping out of bed, I ran down the stairs and when my first (very stupid) reaction of patting the fire with my hands :rolleyes: didn't do anything except burn me, I grabbed a towel (lovely new fluffy bath towel I'd just bought that day:() and started to beat the flames with it, but when that didn't work, I threw the towel over the telly and quickly realised I'd created a vacuum for the fire to get stronger within, so I had to grab it back before it too went up in flames.

Thankfully, a more intelligent survival instinct finally kicked in and a strange calm crept over me. I heard myself discuss (out loud) fire facts - such as "oxygen feeds the flame" - and told myself to soak the towel in water, which I then beat the flames with a bit more and at some point threw the towel over the hole melted into the telly. Thankfully, the wet towel beatings and covering over worked and I managed to quench the fire.

While this was happening, I experienced an amazing feeling of elation, which I presume was the adrenalin of saving my own life. Also, I was wearing fluffy socks on my feet and the floor was wooden, so there was lots of skating from sink (to wet the towel) and back to burning telly to beat the fire and this seemed to add something almost fun-like to the proceedings. :eek:

By time my boyfriend got to my flat, I was sitting there with a blackened face, a melted telly, and a flat full of smoke, grinning most peculiarly, and smoking a cigarette. I think I was probably in shock, but I don't remember feeling scared at any point, mostly I remember feeling excited and elated.

I had another 'could have died' experience, but I'll save that for another post (I know really long posts are a pain, honestly I do ).

So, have you ever saved your own life, or someone else's life? If yes, what did it make you feel like at the time? Did the adrenalin make you strong and calm and quick thinking or did it make you a little bit bonkers, but ultimately successful in your endeavours all the same?

I threw the towel over the telly and quickly realised I'd created a vacuum for the fire to get stronger within

Fizzlesque wrote: »

I sure did