Have you ever been faced with an emergency, and you have NO time to think? What would you do?? This is the story of a summer day in 2012 when Ian was at work and I was at home with our three youngest boys.

We spent Thursday night and Friday preparing for company coming on Saturday. The boys worked hard cleaning up around our property, mowing the lawn and weeding the flowerbeds. They also did a great job cleaning the basement.

Late Friday afternoon I was working in the kitchen when the smoke alarm went off in the basement of our bi-level home. By the time Nathaniel and I got to the landing, the basement was filled with smoke and an awful smell. Timothy yelled, “Something’s on fire in the pump room!”

We live on a dirt road out in the country, half a mile from our nearest neighbour. It would take fire trucks half an HOUR to get here from town. There was no time to think about what to do. I didn’t even know what kind of fire it was, and whether we could safely pour buckets of water on it. The only thing I could think to do was to switch all the breakers off.

I could not see the flames, but I could see the orange glow on the concrete wall as I madly flipped switches. Moments after I flipped the last one, the glow died down and all there was was smoke. Timothy made doubly sure the fire was out, and we opened all the windows and doors and spent the next little while outside.

The fire was in the front corner of the basement, so we were able to keep watch and see when the smoke had dissipated enough that we could go back inside.

As it turned out, we couldn’t have poured water on the fire anyway, because it was the pressure switch on the pump that was on fire. Without it, we HAVE NO water.

The next morning the plumber came to repair the problem. He said the part cost $26. He also told us this is something that NEVER happens. Yet the fact remains, we could have lost our home for the want of a $26 piece of equipment.

What truly amazes me is the timing of the whole thing. Had all of us been working outside, as Andrew was… or had we not been home at all… or had the smoke alarm not been working properly… the fire would have reached the point that we couldn’t stop it.

I am not a quick thinker. I know it was the protection and provision of God, that saved our home that day. And THAT is a lesson I won’t soon forget.