Fire season has started with a bit of a heartbreaking bang this spring. I was incredibly saddened by the news that Nancy O's and Homework burned last week and my thoughts and well-wishes are with the owners and employees of the stores. Not only is the recent fire devastating for those who own and work in these two institutions, it is an absolute loss (even temporarily) to the community. Fires are brutal and shattering to those affected by it.
Throughout my life, I have been witness to a number of house fires and have seen the loss that the fires wreak on the families. When I was about seven-years-old, a house down the street was gutted by fire caused by unsupervised children who were playing with matches in the living room. I remember that most of the street came out to watch the house burn and the subsequent action of the firefighters putting out the flames. After the fire was extinguished, the firefighters all cracked open some adult beverages. I remember thinking to myself, "They must be really thirsty because fires are hot."
The second big fire that I remember was on Christmas morning. Early one Christmas morning around sixteen years ago, my Grandparents were spending the night at our house waiting for Santa Claus. My Grandmother, an early riser, had woken up to use the facilities and noticed a strange glow from across the street. Looking out the window, she noticed smoke and flames coming out of the little trailer across the street. Not wanting to panic everyone in the house, she announced to the sleeping house: "Excuse me? Is anyone awake? The house across the street is on fire. Not our house. The neighbour's house is on fire." My mom called 911 and they told us that they were already on their way so we had nothing left to do except watch a family's life go up in flames. It was heartbreaking to watch. One of the residents in the house managed to save a few of the Christmas presents for the kids to unwrap on their worst Christmas morning ever. From what I remember, the fire had started from an unattended candle left burning on a wooden candleholder that was right beside a live Christmas tree. From start to finish, it took less than twenty minutes for the old trailer to burn to a crisp. Luckily, everyone in the house made it out okay but they lost the family cat and all of their possessions.
These are only the most showy of the fires that I remember being witness to but the sheer, destructive force of fire lingers in my subconscious. The scariest recurring nightmares that I experience have to do with the destruction of my home, either by fire or by a tree falling on the house while we are all sleeping. Your home should be safe, particularly when you are sleeping. Your business should be safe, particularly while you are working. I don't know the cause of the most recent fire but I hope that we can all use this as a reminder to change the batteries in our smoke alarms and update our fire extinguishers in our homes and businesses. Let's also give thanks that no one was hurt in the recent fire and thank the firefighters for their hard work for keeping our community safe.
