I had to call 911 for the first time. Here’s why.

“Does anyone feel dizzy or lightheaded and would like to be checked out?,” an emergency rescue volunteer asked my family.

It’s not something I ever pictured going on at my house, yet there was the EMS vehicle, along with four fire trucks, about 15 firefighters and one cop. That’s what one phone call to 911 will get you. That and all of your neighbors standing on their front lawns looking at your house wondering what the heck is going on.

Everything seemed OK as far as the eye could tell. The children were running around, talking to the cop. My husband and I were talking to neighbors. But there was a scary situation inside. The house smelled like rotten eggs. The kitchen reeked of gas.

I work in an office from my front porch and every time I walked inside the house, I kept asking my mom (who has horrible sinuses and was watching the kids) if she made eggs. About my third time into the house, I went into the kitchen, smelled a strong odor coming from the stove and quickly rushed three dogs, two kids, my mom and myself outside as I called 911, and then my husband.

You always think, if you ever had to evacuate your house in the case of emergency, what would you grab? I just put on shoes and got all the dogs and kids out. I worried about the dogs going in the yard, but didn’t think it was safe to grab and put on their leashes. My mom thought to bring our purses but that didn’t even cross my mind. Just the safety of the family.

The cop was first to arrive and he told me I could quickly run back inside to get my son’s shoes. Then the firemen came. Everyone said they only smelled the dogs in the house, no gas.

Thanks, I know my house smells like dogs because we have a small house and two 60 pound dogs that like to sit in dirt. Hence, why I have unattractive couch covers and obsessively clean. However, I know the difference between a dog smell and fumes.

Nothing was detected so they suggested we call our gas company. When that rep came, he noticed that an end knob on the stove doesn’t lock in place. It could have easily been brushed and turned on. So there you have it. I must have turned it back in place when I checked the stove and didn’t notice it was slightly turned on. There’s no other reasoning for what happened.

It’s terrifying to think that our family was in danger– and that my mother has sinus issues so bad she didn’t even detect that smell until I brought it up! Thank the heavens I work from home and was able to get everyone out of the houseYou always think, when you have to evacuate your house, what would you grab? I just put on shoes and got all the dogs and kids out. My mom is here and thought to bring my purse but that didn’t even cross my mind. Just the safety of the family as I called 911.

I felt bad for making so many people come out but the cop said I’m a mom and that’s my job. To be better safe than sorry and protect my kids. And he noted that the firemen live for such calls. So maybe I added a little excitement to everyone’s day.

In the middle of this, I  also realized, “OMG all these people came to see that my house is kinda a mess and I hope they don’t think it’s always like that! I wish they knew I clean up at the end of the day. And why didn’t I spray down the stove right after I made lunch instead of going right back to work?” We all clean up before company comes, but it’s the middle of the day chaos we don’t want strangers walking in on and judging us!

That night, I ordered oven safety knobs and I will forever use them.

Lesson learned from this post: Secure your oven knobs with covers, especially if you have small children in the house. You never know if they reach up on the stove and turn one on.