Backfire

Sometimes the subject of a blog post suggests itself from events around me. Today is one such day.

The house was empty all day as the household left early for appointments downstate. We came back from a long day on the road only to discover a heavy soot smell in the house. I rushed down the basement and turned the furnace switch off. It appears to have backfired. No idea how that happened. It is 20 years old and at that age anything can happen.

We opened doors and windows to get the smoke out of the house. The air soon cleaned, but baby it's cold outside. Right now the the temperature outside is 12 F and dropping. It's supposed to get down around 6 tonight.

What to do?

That's what backup is all about.

I started the woodstove in the basement. Then I split some small wood for the kitchen wood cookstove. Once both stoves were going, I went around closing the doors and windows. As I type I've got a heavy hooded sweatshirt on. Right now I plan to stay up until the temperature of the house is back up to normal and the stoves have good beds of coals.

Thank goodness there's more than one way to heat my house. If all I had was oil heat, tonight would be a crisis. I called my furnace guy, but after 8 PM on a Friday night, it's no surprise I couldn't reach him. No problem, I left a message. Told him what happened but also told him the woodstoves are going. We are fine. There's no need for an emergency call.

Backup changed the situation from a crisis to an inconvenience.

-Sixbears