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.
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| 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.
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| 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?
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| 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.
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| Roof still smouldering |
News reports indicate no one was home, and there were no injuries. Thank goodness.
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| 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.
