Pilot Safety

Last week, while we were right in the middle of a cold spell of weather, the pilot light on my water heater went out. Not exactly a big deal. The water heater's in a separate closet in my apartment. The door is probably supposed to be locked so that people living here don't store stuff in that closet -- but the door is unlocked. They don't need to worry about me storing anything in that closet, though. Because the last water heater I had dealings with did this:



Or, for those seeking the cartoon-ized version, it did this:



It was just over two years ago that a flame from a "not protected by a guard plate" water heater lit up a stash of mops, plungers, and the like, and very nearly burned down the house I was living in. Had I not been home, old "Torchy" would no doubt have been successful. It should come as little surprise to you, then, that I discovered last week that my experiences have left me pretty skittish around water heaters.

I opened up the closet and looked. Yup, pilot light out. So I went to grab my long-stemmed lighter... and my fire extinguisher. I know, paranoid and ridiculous. But I simply had to. I relit the heater with the lighter in one hand, and the fire extinguisher in the other, I kid you not. I then, after it was lit, I sat there watching it for several minutes with the fire extinguisher still in hand. I left the extinguisher nearby, sitting out, for the rest of the evening, only finally putting it away just before I went to bed. And yes, I took me just a little bit longer to fall asleep.

But hey. That closet door didn't wind up looking like this:



And I had a hot shower ready the next morning.