Despite the Flames

Last Saturday evening my parents dropped my youngest brother (age 10) off at our home while they took the other two younger siblings (14 & 17) to a youth dance two hours away. A few hours later, we received a call from a neighbor that said the home my parents were renting was on fire. My older brother, myself and my little brother (the only ones not at the dance or at work) jumped in our car and drove over to the house. We got there forty-five minutes after the fire had started and before the fire department ever arrived. It was far beyond saving.

When we arrived at the scene, I comforted my little brother, who shook and cried for a long time. After that, I looked for any cats who may have gotten out alive. I found two; our outside tom-cats. The flames were not entirely put out until about 11:45 PM, after my parents had returned and we had taken them to our trailer house. (My older brother and sister (27 & 24), and my next youngest sister (19) and I (20) had moved away from home into our own place about twenty minutes away, back in November).

My parents and three youngest siblings lost everything they owned, save the clothes on their backs. We also had several cats locked beneath the house to save them from the cold weather. When the fire started, they never made it out. My own two cats and my turtle died... I also lost a lot of other important things, but nothing compared to my parents, as I had mostly moved my possessions from the house.

How did the fire start? We can't say for certain, but the most plausible reason was the bend in the wood-stove's chimney. Creosote always gathered in the bend, turning it red-hot. It was getting worse, but we never expected it to do that so suddenly, with the fire so low. It most likely over-heated, exploded the pipe and spit hot flames out into the kitchen (the only real exit) like a flame-thrower.

Our church has been helping with food and clothes, and my parents and siblings are staying with us in our little home, until tonight, when they will take what they have and move into a cabin offered to them, a ways down the road. They will stay there while they receive help finishing their permanent home on their 20 acre property.

A lot of things can never be replaced, especially our beloved pets, but the most important thing is that no one was home and caught in the fire. For that, I'm very grateful. Christmas will be a little different this year, but we've all decided to make the most of it despite our new circumstances, despite the hot flames that consumed memories, records and pets. We just thank God we still have each other.