there was a car on fire at hobby lobby last night.
we have had a thing with car fires lately, but i digress. we came out of hobby lobby, and we saw smoke in the parking lot. joe went around an escalade parked in the first space and saw a red pontiac with smoke billowing out of it. my awesome hubby took control and called 911 while i ran inside to have the employees making an announcement. this is how it went down:
me: i need you to announce that the owner of a red pontiac needs to come outside NOW because it is on fire.
the employee: *just standing there* there’s a car on fire? that’s crazy.
me: ok, so do it NOW.
woman leaving the store: that’s MY car!
sigh.
i also had them announce for everyone to come out and move their cars. there was gas on fire under the car, which really doesn’t make for a good situation. we were scared it was going to blow up. joe ended up moving all the cars because either a)the owners were just standing around watching; or b)they tried to but joe didn’t want them in the line of fire, so to speak.
there happened to be a county firefighter on the scene (driving by? shopping at hobby lobby?), who sloooooooowly put on his turnout gear and used an itty bitty fire extinguisher on the blaze. it didn’t really do much. he thought it would be a good idea to pop the hood, so he made SOME OTHER GUY WITHOUT PROTECTIVE GEAR ON open the car door and try to find the hood latch. right. because if a firefighter asked ME to do that when there is a car on fire and gas burning underneath it, i would tell him to go to hell. and, i’m not a firefighter and all, but i really don’t think opening the hood and giving the fire more oxygen is a good thing. i’m just saying…
the city fire department got there after what seemed like forever (it was only 7 minutes, but boy does time drag by when there is a car on fire) and got to work. by that point, flames were shooting out of both sides of the hood, and when they pried the hood in the front up enough to get the hose inside, all you could see was orange.
what is it with cars catching on fire when joe’s around??
All I could think while reading this was…”How does she get her husband to go to Hobby Lobby w/ her?????”
I’m kidding..but seriously, car fires are really scary. My first car, (1988 Dodge Daytona) caught fire in my driveway when I was 18, but by the time we realized it it was way too late to open the door and look under the hood. I hope everything worked itself out w/ that lady’s car!!
wow! joe’s a hero! were any of the other cars damaged? was anyone hurt?
That is classic. I think Joe has a new calling as a firefighter/ something with rescue! I can’t believe that guy asked you to open the hood and I LAUGHED out loud when you said you would tell him to go to hell!!
First of all…For us non-southerners: what is hobby lobby?
Great story. You seriously have the craziest things happen to you! And sorry I haven’t been commenting lately. I’m still trying to catch back up!
That happened to me once. It happened in the carpark of the store I was working at. There was a rag hanging underneath the car, and that’s where the fire was.
I thought the guy was having me on when he said there was a car on fire…
And get this, the car was abandoned. We did several call-outs, but nobody showed. The guy that reported it grabbed the store’s fire extinguisher and put it out himself. With 2 staff members and the security guard watching.
Good on your man for coming to the rescue!