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Up in Flames: An Unexpected Life Change

SkyRender

By SkyRender
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SkyRender

SkyRender

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I was woken at 5AM this morning to the desperate yelling of my mother, whom I live with for her sake. "Wake up, the roof is on fire!" For but a split second, I thought it merely a dream, but my mind is far too agile to be so deceived. Within seconds I was up, and swiftly struggled to get myself clothed. I exited my room to the smell of smoke, the cat running down the hall desperately in terror, and a fireman gesturing me out of the house. Again, were my mind not so agile, I would be wont to believe it was merely a nightmare. I inquired after the cat, but there was no chance to do anything; we had to trust that her inherent fear would drive her into hiding under my parents' bed (which she fortunately did).

For a tense 90 minutes after, sheltered under the meager roof of our car-park, we waited in anticipation and fear, rain pouring down in occasional spurts overhead. I pieced together the story from what I was told by my parents and the firefighters: dad had lit an old Aladdin lamp on the fireplace mantle, but not adjusted the wick first. The flames shot upward, catching the ceiling alight. His mind of late has been clouded, and he did not even think to waken myself or my mother, instead trying to battle the flames himself. For the sake of all of my family, I am eternally grateful that one of our neighbors saw the fire and called the fire department, and that the firefighters were able to rouse us and get us out.

The damage to our home is significant, but it would have been far worse had the fire department not been contacted. The ceiling is destroyed along two-thirds of the structure in patches, the roof similarly damaged. Though technically no fire reached below the ceiling, the fact remains that the damage caused from piercing the ceiling and roof to put out the flames has done significant damage to the floor and some of the furniture. Certainly we have a problem with an excess of water on the floor, along with the debris of the torn-away ceiling.

We have spent much of the last 90 minutes gathering together what meager supplies we can, contacting the insurance company, and arranging for housing for our cat. I sit on my porch as I type this from my laptop, spared as it fortunately was from any harm, wondering what awaits us now. We will go to live with my aunt and grandmother for a time, and I can only hope that this mess will be resolved in a timely fashion.

One of the inevitable side-effects of all of this, of course, is that I cannot access my main PC for the time being. I don't even know for sure if it's alright, as my room was one of the areas that they had to break through the ceiling. Water seeped into my room, right over my entertainment area, and I am hoping that whatever damage is done will be minimal at worst; possibly I'm being over-optimistic. Whatever the case, for the time being, my life is now turned upside-down, and I find myself adrift in a way I never expected. There is no telling just how much I have actually lost yet, and I may not find out for days.

If you read through all of this, thank you. Right now, I'm thankful to be alive, and to know that I have anywhere I can turn to for support. Even if it is only a friendly word, or condolences, it really does mean a lot.

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Flymetothemun

Flymetothemun

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Good luck to you and your family in the duration. Don't ever feel like you are alone; There are surely folks in your neighborhood that will help and house fires have happened to millions, if not billions of people, so you're in plenty of company. And as for your computer, the insurance company will most likely pay for a new one (That's why the hell people have insurance in the first place, to pay for new stuff if something happens to the old stuff), but I'd focus on recovering the HDD at least. The water/flame would've had to go through the case and possibly a retaining bracket, so it might be safe.

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adsii1970

adsii1970

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I know that things are rough, but as the Bible says, "these things too, shall come to pass..." One thing about life is that it always changes; each change, whether good or bad, can bring out the best or the worst in us. The important thing is you and your family are ok; I know that everyone tells you things can be replaced, and they can, but it doesn't mean that you won't feel a loss. Nevertheless, they are just things and many of them can be replaced. It's what insurance is for.

My prayers and thoughts are with you...

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SkyRender

SkyRender

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Most of the photos I took during the aftermath did not come out well. One in particular, however blurred it may be at the edges, perfectly captures just what it was like though.

XYqJbyq.jpg

Yes, that is the very lamp that started the blaze. The warpath of destruction from the flames ignited above it is only hinted at.

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Starwhip

Starwhip

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Disasters like this are beyond me, as I've never personally experienced something close to it, but there have been moments that have given me some hints to what it must be like. A few years ago during a hurricane, a power line went down in our backyard and lit the neighbor's shed on fire, and being an electrical fire, the rain and the firefighters couldn't put it out very easily. Our house filled with smoke, and you could hear the wind and rain outside buffeting the windows. Another time my father woke me up in the middle of the night. The house down the street was on fire, a really big cloud of smoke and flames billowing up out of the roof. The structure was stripped bare by the blaze, nothing but the concrete walls still standing. Then last winter, a water pipe broke in our house up in Michigan, filling our basement with a foot of water or more. (I was down in Miami at the time, our family primarily lives there but we go up north whenever we can to visit relatives). In terms of actual value, not much was lost, but there were countless priceless items ruined by the flood. Old books, memorabilia, things like that. It was a while before we got everything back in order.

None of these things come close to what you've been through, though, and I wish you the best.

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Xacktar

Xacktar

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I've been through a big fire like that. Not fun at all. The soot gets EVERYWHERE.

I hope that you are able to recover your possessions intact and that the reconstruction and cleaning goes quickly. Life will go on, but the next month or so will probably be a little rough. Good luck!

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dr_jt

dr_jt

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I've been in a house fire. It's a real panic once you find out what is going on. It was an apartment building and one of the tenets was a drug dealer. Someone tried to kill him by setting the basement under his apartment on fire. A couple of years ago the woods in back of my house caught fire. Woke up at about 2am with smoke filling the house. I was really nervous that the trees closer to my house would catch fire. Other than that it was pretty spectacular seeing 60 to 70 foot pines on fire. Flames must have been at least a 100 feet tall.

Edited by dr_jt
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