There have been several instances in my life where I've almost burned the house down to the ground. The earliest time was when I got a hold of one my uncle's lighters from off the shelf. I was probably no older than 4 or 5. I took it when no one was watching and I sat down in the middle of the living room and held the flame up to my face and stared at it until it got too hot for my fingers to hold. I did it a couple of times and then decided to put the flame to the carpet. The fibers melted, twisted and singed black with smoke and it was entrancing. I grew bolder and bolder until, the flame finally caught and a little fire started to spread, the size of coin, the palm of my hand, a basketball. I watched quietly not understanding any of the consequences. My uncle came into the room and saw what I had done, stamped out the flame and slapped me on the back of my head. I got a pretty good beating, but not enough so that I didn't almost burn down the house on several other instances throughout my life.
I was over at my friend S____'s house the another night having a few drinks around the kitchen table. A____ was also over and we chatted about our lives, and jobs, and art. Bragging about small triumphs, but mostly denouncing other artists and the work they made. I had a draft for my fantasy football league going at the same time and overall, it was shaping up to be a pretty low key type of night.
"How's C____ doing?"
"Oh, he just got a job at the Wattis doing preparator work."
"That's good, I haven't seen him around in awhile."
"I just landed a pretty sweet gig at the De Young, today was my last day at the art supply place."
"Congratulations man! Better pay?"
"Yeah double the wage."
"Should I draft Watkins?"
"What number pick?"
"5th round."
"Nah, he didn't produce well last year, go with Morris if he's still available."
I mostly watched the screen, while the chatter went on, content to be in the midst of company and not alone at home on a Friday night. I had been fighting with my girlfriend for weeks and was in a horrible emotional place which had been affecting my studio time and work. I was feeling depressed and I knew that it only made things worse if I stayed at home alone.
They lit a joint and passed it back and forth and offered it to me a few times even though they both knew I had stopped smoking a year ago.
"No thanks man. Just can't do it anymore."
All of S_____'s roommates were home and some of them had to work the next day so we went outside to the patio and decided to light a fire in a little pit they had. It was a little open pit container, the type you could pick up at a big chain hardware store. There was a pile of leaves right next to the pit and a large tree overhanging the pit. This could be a little dangerous I thought to myself, but not enough so to raise objections.
"You guy's want another drink?" asked A_____
"Sure"
"Make that three"
A______ went back to the kitchen to make the drinks and S_____ worked on the fire.
"You think I should draft Romo?"
"Yeah if he's still around, if not I think you can wait another round because everyone else should mostly have the same production afterwards."
The fog was rolling in that night and S_____ couldn't seem to get the fire going. He kept throwing bits of cardboard underneath the logs he propped up, but they would not catch. I stared mindlessly at the screen and didn't think to help or engage, merely content to be disengaged from my friends and the situation. He went and grabbed a can of lighter fluid from inside.
"This should get the fire going."
The next couple of moments went by horribly fast. I was only about a quarter way through my fantasy draft when I heard a commotion in S____'s direction.
"You okay man?" I asked nonchalantly
"Oh fuck, oh fuck."
I looked up and S_____ 's right side of his body was on fire. He had dropped the can of half gallon lighter fluid and it had spilled partially onto him and the ground and flames leapt five feet in the air. The patio, a lawn chair, and the side of the house were immediately engulfed in flames.
"Holy shit."
I ran to try to stomp the flames out, but the can had landed side down and produced a continuous stream of ignition. The flames leapt higher and higher and S____ kept slapping at his arm and pants to try to put himself out. When he finally put himself out he ran back into the house. I stayed outside and shoved the gas can out of the main fire in hopes that the goddamn thing wouldn't explode in my face. I slapped and stamped at the main bulk of the fire to no avail. The flames climbed higher onto the siding of the house. While all this mayhem was going on, the actual logs in the firepit remained unlit. S_____ came back out with pots filled with water and dumped them on the flames which were by now a quarter way up the side of the house and about a third of the small patio. The fire was directly separating me and the door back in the house. S____ ran back inside to refill the pots as A____ came outside. By this time all of S____'s had heard the commotion and were out of the deck or in the living watch their house being engulfed in flames.
As A____ came out to the patio, S____ started dumping water directly out the living room window. There was a loud hiss and large ball of sparks. The fire had eaten through an electrical fire.
"Stop throwing water!" A_____ yelled, "There is a live wire outside."
The fire still separated me and the inside of the house. The ground was doused with water and I thought this is the end. I was going to die of electrocution before I had really done anything spectacular with my life. I jumped over the water and fire and ran inside.
"Should we call the fire deparment?" one of S____'s roommates asked.
"Yes, call 911 now."
"You're on fire." S____ said pointing to my leg. I looked down and my left foot and pant leg were indeed on fire. I patted it out with my hand and tried again to stamp out the flames. I grabbed a cushion off the couch and raced back downstairs. What seemed like 30 minutes was in reality only about 5 minutes. We were able to subdue the fire eventually as the firemen arrived. I felt a deep sense of relief, anxiety, and adrenaline coursing through my body. The firemen came in and put out the remainder of the fire and live embers, they ripped out part of the siding to the wall.
"You guy's did a pretty decent job" one of the firemen off handedly remarked.
As one of the firemen went over the report with J_____ I felt a mixture of relief and concern. I was glad that no one was hurt, but I knew that J____ would be in a bit of trouble and his roommates were already convening together probably in hopes of kicking him out of the house. It was the closest call I had ever had to burning the house down. At that moment I thought about my life, my girlfriend, family, and friends I loved, my mistakes and triumphs, and how little I had accomplished and how much more I wanted to do. Looking back, I realize how lucky we were to have escaped a tragedy. I realized that i had to redouble my efforts in my own life and how much for granted I had taken things like my health, girlfriend, and career. I had everything going for me and I didn't even realize it.
J____ had a pretty sizeable burn on his left arm, but declined to go to the emergency room. J____, A_____, and I all went out for a cigarette at the front of the house. We walked passed his roommates as we went out the front door and they did not look happy.
"I am glad that everyone is okay."
"Yes, that could have been worse."
"You should call your landlord."
"I'll have to do it tomorrow, it is too late now."
"Maybe B_____ can help you repair the siding of your house."
"Yes, that will have to be done as soon as possible."
We chatted for a bit longer and hugged goodbye.
"Take care of yourself J_____"
As I walked back to my car, despite everything else, all I could think about was horrible my fantasy team was going to be.
