I see that in the UK fire extinguishers have been prohibited in private and public apartment housing blocks. It seems that the British powers that be decided that ordinary citizens lack the basic competency to use a fire extinguisher, that they would put themselves at undue risk if they were to try to put out a fire themselves, that they should just leave the premises and wait for the fire brigade to come put out the fire. I sincerely hope this does not come to pass here in Canada. Back in 1995 I had a serious fire break out in the house I was sharing with three housemates. I used a ten pound fire extinguisher to stop the fire dead in its tracks before the fire department arrived.

I remember the incident well. It happened in the time it took one of my housemates to leave the house to buy a bottle of pop at the confectionary a block away from the house and come back. It was a windy night in October. A housemate had put out candles as we were having friends over for drinks that evening. A freak gust of wind blew the drapes hanging in the living room window into the flame of one of the candles, and the drapes ignited. I had just gotten out of the shower and slipped into my socks and drawers when I heard the smoke alarms start shrieking. My first thought was "that's odd, the smoke alarms don't usually sound after someone showers," but then I put two and two together, thinking candles! I rushed to the top of the stairs and could see flames through the doorway leading into the living room. I went downstairs to find the drapes ablaze in the living room. After an instant when the shock set in, the training I received while serving in the Canadian Army kicked in. I turned back toward the stairs and shouted "Fire Fire! Get out! to the two housemates upstairs. Then I ran to the basement stairs where the fire extinguisher was mounted. I retrieved the fire extinguisher and brought it into the living room. By then the flames were covering the front windows and coming across the ceiling. I snapped the plastic tie on the fire extinguisher, pulled the pin, aimed the nozzle and squeezed the handle. There was a big puff of yellow dry chemical and the fire was extinguished. I gave the handle a second squeeze to be certain the fire was out, then directed my housemates to open the windows and retrieve a fan from the basement to put in the rear window to clear the smoke. I grabbed a flashlight to check to see that the fire was out and heard the sirens of the fire trucks approaching, so I went out to the porch and signaled to the fire fighters with the flashlight.

The fire fighters came storming into the house and noticed that the fire was out. One of them pried away at the wall and ceiling with an axe to make certain the fire had not gotten underneath. I stood there in my socks and drawers, shining the flashlight on the ceiling for him. He noticed me standing there and said "this smoke is not doing you any good." I was given the bum's rush out of the house onto the lawn in full view of the neighbours. Paramedics put a blanket around me to preserve my modesty and had me breathe oxygen for a while. They thought I must have been suffering from smoke inhalation as I was not hysterical. I told them I had been trained how to keep a cool head in a crisis and to fight fires when I served in the Army. The Fire Chief told me I had done a good job in putting out the fire. The insurance company was happy too as I had stopped the fire before it had done much damage to the house. I have always taken pride in my ability to be self-reliant. I was concerned at first that I might be prosecuted for having taking matters into my own hands, but it seems that private citizens in Canada still have some leeway in taking initiative in dealing with emergencies. A few months later a house across the street from us was gutted in a fire. Its occupants left the house and waited for the fire department, but by the time the fire fighters arrived, there was little to do but extinguish what became a smouldering ruin.

I am left wondering where on Earth does the nanny state crowd get the idea that people cannot take care of themselves, that they must be made to be completely dependent on big brother for their welfare.