Five hours ago, I thought I would look outside and be annoyed by drunken fools. However, it was flames shooting from my neighbor's house that greeted me. The screaming was coming from parents of a child on a second floor. The fire trucks, still outside my house, were not here.
The child jumped onto a blanket being held... (UPDATE I was wrong, it was the father who was trapped. He broke bones but survived! all five homes of the row are empty, two for a very long time)
hoping and praying.
and blessed be the volunteers who have spent the night saving an entire row of houses or even an entire block of houses from being destroyed.
and blessed be the neighbor who walked a couple blocks to see if we were OK.
and blessed be the neighbors whose homes are attached to the one that burnt, who were just let back into their houses to get a bag of stuff.
my plans for the day have changed, but in no way, like it has for the good folk who live across the street.
...
it was somewhat surreal watching this unfold & not knowing if the two of you were safe (altho when the chef was gone for so long, ellie & i figured he'd found you and the three of you were chatting! glad we were right in THAT assumption!)
ReplyDeleteterrifying for everyone in your part of the L'dale but most especially for the family whose home is gone. kudos to the local volunteer fire departments who saved the homes on either side and who were there LONG after i fell back to sleep around 4.
again, the frailty of our lives is brought to the front of our minds in a flash.
and again, we are so grateful that you & mosaic woman are safe.
Red... it appears that at least two of the homes are severely damaged. day light is scary
ReplyDeleteSo glad everyone is physically ok.
ReplyDeleteAnd remembering the night long ago when the church behind us burned to the ground -- husband out of town -- waking up 3 small children and carrying/pushing them out the door to the neighbors' because the fire was too close to our house -- and making lemonade for the firemen.
A very scary way to spend a night.
Have never been this close to that sort of tragedy, but do know that it is a complete devastation to someone's life even if all escape. There are no words....
ReplyDeleteI need to fix what I wrote, it was the father who had to jump. He broke both his feet but fortunately survived.
ReplyDeletevestry received a request that holy trinity consider turning the plate from the easter service over to the relief effort for the families and so we will! remember to bring pocket cash on sunday!
ReplyDeleteRed...would I have to have abstained since I knew the folk in the fire? Got to talk to the guy directly across from me this morning. They were at home. His eldest daughter (middle school?) woke the family.
ReplyDeletein this case, abstaining would have been (in my mind) wildly inappropriate! can you find out if there's anything else we can do? Be the Change N Penn might be a resource for non-monetary help. let me know, ok?
ReplyDeletei'm still so very grateful because, as horrible as it is, it could have been so much worse.