Friday, October 8, 2010

The Fire At OUR House...Yes, a REAL Fire

This is what we saw when we drove up to our house tonight.  My husband and I took our son to Desert Star Theater for his birthday and at the very beginning of the 2nd act I got a call on my cell phone.  I ignored it.  They called right back so I answered it.  It was our neighbor calling and he said that there was a fire at our house and that my daughter and son were ok.
The fire started on our back deck in a picnic basket I had set outside a couple of weeks ago.  The firefighters asked if I had set it out right after Oktoberfest.  I wonder where they got that idea? 
This is the damage.  We are so blessed and lucky that the fire didn't spread to underneath the deck.  There are dead leaves down there and it would have been REALLY bad.
The firefighters called in an investigator to determine the cause.  There were 2 matches right next to this mess.  He thought that my 11 year old was playing with matches but I know that she wouldn't do that.  Plus if she was playing with matches and did start that fire would an 11 year old have the presence of mind to run back to the exact spot we have the matches and put them back, THEN run out and call 911?  My mommy instinct tells me NO. 
So here's the scary part.  We know the fire was intentionally set.  We know it wasn't us that started the fire.  So who then?  I grabbed the 2 matches on our deck and compared them to the matches we have at our house.  The burned matches are taller than our new ones and one had a green tip.  Ours our red.  I gave them to the investigator.  He decided to keep them as evidence.  So who set this?  Are they coming back?  Are they going to start more fires?
I had to gather the remains and throw them away.  It never occurred to me that they would leave the mess.  How naive of me.
I am so very, very proud of my daughter.  I am so very, very glad that we have talked about fire safety over and over again.  When she saw the fire she grabbed my 4 year old, ran across the street to our meeting spot and called 911.  If you haven't talked to your family and come up with a safety plan and meeting spot, DO IT NOW. 

2 comments:

Shafferprincess said...

Yikes!

So glad nothing else was damaged, that what was damaged was minimal, and that Addison and Carter are okay. What a scary phone call to receive.

Hopefully nobody comes back to start something again, and that whoever did it is caught quickly!

Lesia said...

You are a born detective. So happy you are all ok.

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