Fire In The Hole.....

Nothing says Labor Day Weekend like ice tea, corn on the cob and.....when your bbq grill catches on fire.

A helpful math equation: old bbq grill+cracked propane line+beef ribs=big fire :(

Now, in the life of an accomplished grill person, the thought process goes something like this: "hey! the ribs have a lot of fat on them, hey! it's catching on fire, hey! this fire isn't going out like it usually does.....maybe we should try plan B"

But, no, no, dear readers, that would be far too easy and I am only a novice grill nun.

so, my thought process went something like this: "hey! i smell smoke, hey! the fire inside the grill is big! WOW! i really need to get the ribs off the grill (shove aside corn on the cob as our dog becomes quite interested in the unfolding scene and how it might benefit him), WOAH! the fire is still burning even AFTER i turned the gas off and shut the lid....uh oh, fire seems to be getting bigger and bigger inside.....hmm.....there are some competing burning smells here, is that plastic? should i call the fire department and what would i say to 911? something like "hello, my grill is on fire, please come quick and bring some marshmallows?"

Slight panic becomes evident upon my face and I consider running around in circles on the patio, flailing my arms about and shouting like Tattoo on Fanstasy Island, "THE GRILL!! THE GRILL!!"

but that would be worse than asking firefighters to bring marshmallows to our convent.

Dousing a grease fire with the water hose was out of the question (and can I just say that all the while I am battling the bbq burnout, everyone else is in the house, peaceful as ever, thinking that I am grilling them the best meal of their lives.
things weren't looking good.....)

then I remembered our 10 pound bag of baking soda in the kitchen and our dog watched, amused but disappointed that I hadn't dropped a rib in all this commotion, as I ran into the kitchen, yanked the bag out of the drawer, still drawing no attention to the fact that there was a fire on our back patio.

so i proceeded to stuff handfuls of baking soda into the holes of the grill, and stuffed more and more into every opening i could find and then I opened the lid a bit and dumped much of the 10 pound contents into the mouth of the dragon.

Finally, finally, after what looked like a White Christmas in September on the cement, the flames flickered out.
And it was silent.

Unimpressed, our dog got up and began to lick to pavement.

So i got the hose out and sprayed the patio off.

Only then did one of sisters meander outside, looking a little puzzled to see white pavement, me soaking wet and the grill covered in white powder. She didn't ask any questions......

I just smiled.

Happy Labor Day everyone.

(buy some extra baking powder)

And may our grill rest in peace......