Posted in Did you hear emergency vehicle sirens all day Thursday, and wonder what was going on? According to an article by Stephen Gurr in the Gainesville Times on Friday, Hall county fire fighters had to deal with 5 fires and a chemical burn call within a span of 9 hours. According to the report, the first fire of the day came in at 10:20am on Thursday, and caused an estimated $100,000 in damage to a 2-car detached garage and its contents at 4836 Glade Farm Road.
Read more from this Gainesville Times Article: http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/4493/
The sirens reminded me of an incident buried in my "infamous mothering archives"...
My husband was leading a mission trip in Mexico, and due home in a few days. I was out buying craft supplies for my 3 year-old's birthday party (yeah, I know, a way too ambitious theme for a bunch of 3 year-olds!) I came out of the store with arms laden - 3 year old in one arm, and shopping bags and purse in the other. Got to the car, dumped the bags on the front seat, slammed the door, and then secured Christie into her car seat. I still had my car keys clenched between my teeth - remember, no free hands - and Christie grabbed them from me. No problem (yet!) As I pushed her door shut with my hip, I saw her hit the lock button and heard the click of all the doors locking, and all in slow motion I might add...
My heart dropped, and I dashed around the car, trying all the doors, including the trunk (still don't know why the trunk, can you picture a desperate mother sitting inside her trunk and slashing at her backseats trying to save her trapped toddler?) Trying to stay calm, I pointed to the remote in her hands, and tried to show her how to push the unlock button. As she looked at it, she dropped the remote onto the floor, and out of her poor, restrained little reach...Another mother, holding her sleeping toddler and trying to stow her shopping bags in a minivan next to mine, asked the dreaded rhetorical question, "did you just lock your baby in the car?" By this time, I was staring longingly at my purse on the front seat, knowing it contained both cell phone and AAA card. She graciously allowed me to call the AAA from her cell, but before I even had a chance to state my emergency, was put on hold! In the meantime, a concerned citizen took it apon himself to run back into the store and call 911. He came back out, and proudly announced his selfless deed. I cringed further when I heard the sirens coming - they were the loudest I'd ever heard, and we could hear them approaching for several miles! I have no idea what they were thinking, but they must have sent the biggest ladder firetruck that the county owned, and it came screaming into the parking lot. Of course, everybody poured out of all the surrounding stores and joined the small crowd of onlookers surrounding my car. To say I was mortified would have been an understatement! One of the firefighters fought his way through the crowd and asked "are you the mother?" Knowing that no-one else in the parking lot would admit to such stupidity, I graciously announced, "I am!" They made me sign a form releasing them from liability should they damage the car in the process of the rescue, as if I cared! Next, they brought out a kit which made me realize that I obviously was not the only mother who'd ever locked her child in the car. If they were this prepared, it obviously occured on a fairly regular basis. Within minutes, they had the car unlocked and were driving away. I got into my car, wondering how I was going to diffuse the post-traumatic stress disorder that my 3 year old was sure to develop, when she asked from the backseat, " mommy, where did those nice kind men (firefighters) go?" Later that day, when asked about the incident on the phone by her daddy, Christie couldn't even remember the incident...
