FIRE!!!

If anything is worth three exclamation marks, it's our crazy evening last night. We were getting ready for bed, and we let Brady watch a movie with us for 10 - 15 minutes before we put him in bed. During this period, I hear someone yell, "FIRE!" I open the window shutter by my bed and realize that my shutter and window are very hot and the neighbor's 3rd floor is completely in flames. Here's a video of the fire from the side of the burning townhouse. You can see that the burning townhouse's front door faces our front door. We were afraid of one of the trees falling on our unit.

We put the dogs on the back patio, where they would be accessible (if the fire spread to our house). Once we were out by the street we realized our dogs had run off; I think the fire chief was going through our house to keep an eye on the fire and let the dogs escape. One of my neighbors caught Daisy, but Bailey was gone. I knew he probably went for a little exploration trip to Memorial Park, and we didn't worry about him when we decided to take the rest of the family and spend the night at Grammy's. Our cars were blocked in, so we were grateful that Grammy had a car seat, diapers and a safe place for us to sleep. Here's a video Taylor took from our carport. Our house is the all white, 2 story unit.

The news this morning reported there were 41 emergency vehicles on site. The fire was a 2 alarm fire upon arrival and escalated to a 3 alarm fire before the fire department got it under control. A cute little news reporter in a suit tried to interview me while I was in my pajamas, carrying Brady and my cell phone. I was just the type of pregnant white trash she would love to get on camera. I obviously denied the interview.

Grammy brought us back this morning where we found Bailey laying patiently by our front door; we knew that nose would help him find his way home. The remediation personnel say that the unit across from ours and the one next door will have to be taken back to the studs and rebuilt. I'm surprised that anything on the main house could be salvaged. Here's a picture of the view from our front window last night and a photo of the burnt house this morning.

I normally consider myself cool under pressure, but last night certainly shook our nerves. All night I was worried about looters in our home. We left everything unlocked because the fire department wanted access. I left my purse, keys, wedding ring, computer, photos, etc. at the house. I'm relieved to be home and see that all is well. Fortunately, all of our family, neighbors, pets and neighbor's pets are okay this morning.