Monday, April 29, 2013

Fire


In the wee hours of Saturday morning, my phone rang. That’s never a good sign. When I answered, my mother told me their house was on fire. For a split second, I thought it was the new house that they’d just moved into. But, thankfully, it was not.

It was their old house. The one they were ready to sell. A nasty thunderstorm moved through our area during the night, and, according to the fire marshal, a lightning bolt (or perhaps two) struck my parents’ house, plunging through the two stories and hitting the propane gas line. The gas immediately caught fire. The marshal said it was like a massive blow torch burning through the house. The fire was so hot that the flames were blue.

Much of the inside of the house is gone. The entire kitchen and dining room no longer exist. Though a few of the walls are still there, suspended from the ceiling like teeth in an old crone's mouth. Eventually, their weight will pull them loose, and they'll fall to the basement. Most of the metal in the house—wrought iron railings, brass chandeliers, etc., are all melted.

Thankfully, my parents had their belongings out of the house. And even more thankfully, no one was in the house. Had my parents and my 94 year old grandmother been in the house, I doubt they would have escaped. The fire was too fast and too violent. In fact, a neighbor said that when the bolt struck, it knocked him off the couch. God was so merciful to my family. 


Thanks to Rachael Venema of Raeven Photography for taking the photo of my parents' house.

9 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear this, but at least no one was hurt. I can't imagine what it would have been like to be there for something like that.

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  2. HOLY SMOKES. Firstly, what are the odds of that lightning bolt and secondly, your family being out of there. God was very merciful.

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  3. I'm so glad your family is safe, and no longer in that house! How lucky that happened after everyone moved out, and not a year ago.

    I hope insurance is able to help with the fixing-up costs, so they can still sell it at a good price, but I'm just happy to hear everyone is okay.

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  4. I'm glad no one was hurt. House fires are nasty. That's very lucky for you though!

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  5. So glad no one was in there to get hurt. So scarey.

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  6. Oh my goodness, how terrifying. I'm so thankful nobody was there. Praise God.

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  7. Saw you tweet about this over the weekend. That is so scary, and I'm so glad no one was hurt when that happened. Sorry about the house itself though!

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  8. So sorry something like this happened. A house fire is always terrifying.

    Nas

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  9. A house on fire is one of the worst things that can happen to anyone. Glad your family is safe.

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