I never thought it would happen to me... until it did

I never thought it would happen to me... until it did

It was a beautiful summer day, so a quick swim in the pool before lunch seemed like the perfect idea. After her swim, Jacqui dropped the wet towel on the edge of the kitchen bench and quickly started cooking lunch.

The chimes to signal the end of the washing machine cycle rang in the laundry adjacent to the kitchen, but she knew she had to get back to the stovetop where she was reheating lunch, so Jacqui pulled the washing out of the machine and left it in the basket. "As I turned the corner back to the kitchen, to my horror, my lunch had caught fire and flames were growing rapidly. Thinking quickly, I grabbed the wet towel and suffocated the flames. Smoke filled the room, the smoke detector alarmed, and the smell of the burnt plastic handles filled the house,” recalled Jacqui.

‘What ifs’ played in Jacqui’s head for days after the event. “What if I decided to hang the washing out, delaying my return to the kitchen by another couple of minutes? ‘What if' the wet towel was not there? And the ‘what ifs’ went on and on in my head,” Jacqui said.

Of course, Jacqui knew not to walk away from a stovetop while cooking; but as a mum on a tight schedule, multi-tasking is common. “It was the wake-up call I needed because something I thought could have never happened to me, did. That afternoon, I went straight out and purchased a fire blanket,” explained Jacqui.

A highly preventable fire like Jacqui’s, can and did happen. It was lucky the wet towel was right there before the flames took hold and disaster was averted. The fright was enough to force action from Jacqui immediately with the purchase of a fire blanket.

Jacqui explained, “I never want to be in that situation again, owning a fire blanket makes me feel prepared and safe; it gives me a feeling of comfort knowing I am doing something to protect my family and my home in the event something like this happens again.”

Life-changing experiences like Jacqui’s are a powerful reminder that emergencies can unexpectedly happen. In Australia, approximately 50 people die each year from house fires, while 30,000 die from sudden cardiac arrest. To add to this frightening statistic, 80% of sudden cardiac arrests occur in the home, often without warning.

In both situations, a crisis can be averted through quick action and the availability of life-saving tools. The fire blanket acts as a tool to smother flames and prevent fire destruction. Similarly, an automatic external defibrillator (AED) provides life-saving defibrillation, and when combined with high-quality CPR gives a person the best chance of survival. That’s because for every minute CPR and defibrillation are delayed, a person’s chance of survival drops by 10%.

While vastly different, these two scenarios highlight the importance of preparedness and accessibility when faced with unpredictable emergencies. Whether it’s a fire threatening to engulf a home or a sudden cardiac arrest threatening a loved one, having the right tools and knowing how to use them can be the difference between life and death.

CellAED^® is the world’s first personal defibrillator that is affordable and easy-to-use in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest.

Give yourself peace of mind and be prepared with CellAED^® your personal defibrillator.