If your house is on fire

Saturday evening 10:00 PM. I just organized the most fun baby shower at my home for my best friend when suddenly there is an endless ringing at the door. ‘Maybe someone forgot something?’ says my pregnant friend A. We had just said goodbye to the last guests of her baby shower. Friend E opens the door and comes face to face with my neighbor who is totally panicking, shouting ‘FIRE, there is a fire in your house! On the terrace above!’ Everything goes in a blur. I run upstairs and on the way I quickly tell my friend A: ‘Now down you go, get out, you are super pregnant!’ Once I reach my bedroom (which is adjacent to the terrace), I see something you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. Holy shit. My entire terrace is on fire.

I grab my phone to call 112, but the neighbor shouts that it's not necessary. ‘I have a fire extinguisher. We have it under control.’ I hang up the number and run outside. What happens next, no one expects. It only gets worse because of the fire extinguisher. An explosion of fire sparks flies everywhere. Suddenly everything seems more synthetic than ever and the walls of my rooftop terrace seem to be closing in on us every second. We fetch water, as much water as possible. Filling a bucket seems to take hours. One bucket yes, because I don't have more. We extinguish with vases, cups, and anything that can be filled with water to get the fire under control, because the fire really, really, REALLY must not go inside. We have been extinguishing for hours without calling the fire department. When things started smoldering for the third time, it finally dawned on us that this was not going to work. Why on earth didn't we just call the fire department right away?

At 1:00 AM, the fire department arrives with screaming sirens. ‘You should never have stood in this smoke for so long,’ says the firefighter shaking his head. ‘You are wearing incredibly flammable clothing. How did two girls manage to get this under control? Why are you only calling us now?’ I swallow and realize that I am fighting back tears. Not now, don't cry, everyone is unharmed. It's just stuff, Lil, it's just stuff.

The fire department extinguishes the last smoldering spots on the terrace and when the smoke has cleared a bit, the cause becomes clear: my brand new lounge set has caught fire due to a poorly extinguished cigarette. I don't smoke, and soon we found out that there had been smoking on the terrace. Long story short: the 24 hours that followed were a nightmare. With the sweetest help from my friends A and E, we hardly slept, cleared a lot of debris, and literally tried everything to reduce the sickly (almost radioactive!) smell in the house even a little.

But seriously. Do I have this again? I am organizing a baby shower for my best friend where I never could have imagined that I would be left with a burned terrace. Anyway, I have to deal with it now, because who is responsible for this? My new house, my home is a big mess. But not only the terrace is burned, the whole house is filled with soot and smoke damage. All I wish is that everything will be okay, preferably with the same girls who were also present at A's baby shower.

Because we have all been there for our dear friend A in good times, but let this also be a lesson in bad times. Oh, and for everyone reading this: stop smoking. Or, like me: never start.

What I want to share with you?

• Check your insurance now. Both your contents and your liability insurance. If not for yourself, then for the damage you cause to others.
• A fire extinguisher, fire blanket, and smoke detectors are really a must in the house.
• Make sure to have an ashtray (layer of water) in and around your house. And to all smokers: always check everywhere if you have properly extinguished your cigarette. Please take your responsibility because danger really lurks in a very, very small corner.
• Don't hesitate to call 112. Always call 112.
• Are you in the smoke? Create a mask. If necessary, from a tea towel or T-shirt, but protect your lungs.
• Don't leave your hostess, who welcomed you with so much love, alone. Together you are much stronger, right?