Fire

Yesterday, I witnessed a fire.  It is not something I feel like writing a happy, rhyming poem about, so instead I will tell the story.

I got the boys to the table for lunch, and went to use the washroom.  When I came out, I noticed what looked like fog out my back windows.  That seemed weird to me, since it has previously been a fairly nice day out.  I went to look out my back door for a closer look, and realised it was smoke.

How close the fire was to my house, about 100m.

My house has a back alley, and behind that is a creek with a walking path.  On the other side of the path is a townhouse complex, of duplexes and fourplexes.  The smoke was coming from one of the duplex units, and I could see flames by the bottom of the house.

I called 911, and asked for fire.  She asked where it was, and I named my town.  She named the street, and I confirmed, and she said they were already on their way, but thank you for calling.  We hung up, and I watched the fire.  Fire engines arrived.

Smoke obscuring the fire

I took some pictures and video, and sent my husband a BBM with a picture and the message "One of the townhouses behind us is on fire"  Because I didn't punctuate it, or add any emoticons, he thought I was being awfully casual.

The smell was horrid.  When I first went outside to take pictures, the roar of the fire was amazing.  I had no idea it would be so loud.  It is also impossible to describe - like a sucking roar sound.

In between watching the fire, I was also trying to get lunch into two little boys.  My two-year-old kept wanting to watch with me, and my 8-month-old was mad because we kept "deserting" him in his chair to watch the fire.

I could see the firefighters spraying from the front of the house, and a ladder truck with a bucket set up on the back of the house.  I kept trying to get pictures that showed the flames on the roof, and then I would feel horrible.  A family's home was being detroyed, and I was trying to get better shots of it?

The side is destroyed and the roof is in flames.

The firefighters had things under control in about an hour, and I could see the house was reduced to a shell.  The roof is almost completely gone.

Roof still smouldering

News reports indicate no one was home, and there were no injuries.  Thank goodness.

The remains

 

I took this standing on my back deck.  At the end you can hear me making a noise as I inhaled smoke.  I had to go inside at that point to avoid it. My house smelled like campfire all afternoon.

I hope these people are able to get back on their feet quickly.  I am glad no one was home or hurt.


I have been counting my blessings, which are many.