Open Features: Fire, Fire!
Rita B brings us the fourth part of the story of her turbulent upbringing in Canada.
There was a bedroom in the basement that David used. He was in there and so were a couple of my sisters. They were sitting on the bed talking. When I came in they told me in blunt language to go away.
I was bored, so went to see if the fire was okay. Thought I'd get the house good and warm. And the paper box was almost full. I started crumpling paper up and throwing it in the fire.
Wow that made a big flame.
Then I'd put more in and more till I couldn't get any more in and it fell out. And stupid me, I picked up a burning piece of paper and threw it in the paper box.
There was fire then for sure. I ran to the bedroom and told them and they came running out and I ran upstairs.
Next thing mom is shown what I did and she dragged me from neighbor to neighbor and I got a tongue lashing everywhere she took me.
Once mom had the attic rented out to a German family. They had one daughter, and she was sick in bed and her mother was trying to steam the room so she could breathe better. She put a hot plate next to the bed and the curtains caught fire. She came running down the stairs and didn't know how to say FIRE in English. She grabbed me and we ran up together.
The window frame was on fire. I yelled down to call the fire department. Then got some water from the sink.
David came up with a pail of water and he threw it at the window. Bucket and all went right through the window. He thought the whole thing was exciting and funny. Actually we all did.
Mom didn't get mad at him for that. We really didn't need the fire department as we had it under control anyway. The lady was sure upset to think that she started the whole thing. They didn't live with us long.
When I think of it now, I could have burned the house down. It was a wood furnace. Dad used to buy old railway ties. They were all thick with Creosote. In the fall a big truck would come and dump a load in the backyard. Then he'd rent a big table saw. Sometimes David would help him. I was only allowed to stack it up in the room underground just outside the basement door. And as the room got emptier come the spring I'd use it to play in. I'd pick up any stray animal or bird and pretend it was a veterinary hospital.
* The first three parts of Rita B's extraordinary story can be read in the Open Features file on this page.
