For my 25th birthday I received the surprise of my life: my house almost blew up.

I awoke Thursday to what was to be a celebration of a quarter-century of living.

Quickly checking in the mirror to be sure I hadn’t attained my first gray hair or any noticeable wrinkles overnight, I got into my car, only to find an itinerary of birthday travel plans from my significant other. The afternoon would lead me on an adventure filled with gifts, flowers, self-indulgence and, unbeknownst to me, the unexpected.

After arriving home to prepare for the second-to-last stop on my itinerary, I heard the smoke detector of my neighbors’ apartment going off.

Joel Steenstra, Allendale senior; Mike Nowak, Farmington Hills senior; and I live in one house, but our apartments are separate. They live in the front; I live in the back. We share our dogs, a fenced-in backyard and a strong friendship.

Annoyed at the persisting fire alarm, I called next door. When Joel picked up I immediately asked him if he was cooking. Breathless, he replied, “The furnace just burst into flames two times. I put it out, but it’s smoking.”

I dropped the phone and ran next door. Inside the apartment, noxious fumes funneled out of the furnace and a loud hissing sound seeped out. I picked up their phone and called 911. After explaining the situation to the woman who answered she told me to “get everyone out of the house now.”

We ran outside and I ran back into my house. Yes, I am an idiot. But I wanted to turn my furnace off, grab the dog leashes and save the editorial I had been writing for CM LIFE on my computer, just in case I had a house to go back to. (It wasn’t very rational thinking and I would hope you don’t ever act as stupidly as I did. I repeat, I was an idiot.)

In about two minutes the fire department arrived, turned off the gas and made sure everything was OK. (Thank you, guys, for the quick response!)

In the midst of everything I learned just how lucky we truly were.

Joel had seen the furnace door glowing and smelled smoke. He grabbed a fire extinguisher, told Mike to grab a blanket to wrap around Joel if the flames jumped onto him and then he put the fire out. It burst into flames a second time and he was again able to extinguish it.

At the time of the fire, Joel and Mike were getting ready to leave for class and the dogs were just hanging out in their living room.

Had the fire occurred just a few minutes later, Joel and Mike would have already been gone. I probably would have not only been too late to put out the fire, but I could have been sitting inside of my house, oblivious, if the flames had ignited the leaking gas.

After the chaos had died down, my adrenaline had not. I was high off the near-tragedy and found myself bursting with energy and excitement.

But as I was cheering on the men’s basketball team the reality of the situation hit me.

Our dogs, all of our possessions, our apartments – me? – could have been reduced to nothing more than ashes. But, because of luck, fate, Joel’s quick thinking and a higher power, everything and everyone was alright.

Jim Wojcik, my adviser at CM LIFE, said God must not have wanted me yet, and I agree.

I think next year when I wake up on my birthday I will skip checking for gray hairs and wrinkles and just thank God for the chance to celebrate another year of life.

E-mail the author: Angie FentonLIFE Editor