Here Come the Firetrucks....AGAIN!!

Oh boy, has today been an exciting day! I feel like I've been hit by a truck, complete with pounding headache, as I come off the major adrenaline rush that filled my lunch hour. As I was talking to my mom on the phone earlier, I was walking into the family room and turned to look out my back patio door only to see the most gianormous huge (cannot emphasize the largeness enough!) billowing clouds of black smoke less than 100 feet away. I can only describe it as being like a HUGE WIDE TALL tornado funnel but instead made up of black smoke. I could only make out half of the neighbors house diagonally behind us (and our homes are close together) because the rest was enveloped by these sinister thick black billowing clouds dancing high into the sky above.

Horrified, I abruptly hung up the phone just as our neighbor across the street began to frantically pound on our front door. I ran for the door, only for him to affirm the obvious that there was a huge fire behind our house. Cameron was in school but the triplets were all downstairs with me, so I quickly grabbed each barefooted boy and threw him out the front door. Luckily, a quickly gathering crowd of bystanders each grabbed a boy and ran across the street with him. I grabbed my shoes and purse and ran outside just behind them. I jumped in my car and drove to where the triplets were waiting with their newfound stranger friends. Everyone helped me to pile them into their carseats.

The next 10 minutes or so, we watched as firetruck after firetruck after rescue vehicle piled into our little 3 cul de sac community. I am not kidding when I say that nearly 30 fire vehicles came racing to the scene. The first trucks actually missed the turn for the street behind ours and instead pulled to our house....that's how close the fire looked to our house. Neighbors started gathering and we quickly tried to account for people and pets in each neighboring house. Even before the fire trucks arrived, our tiny streets quickly got clogged with nosey people that just had to see where that enormous fire was coming from....I have truely never experienced such a spectacle before (even when taking the triplets out in public LOL!)

I could see it was getting increasingly difficult to even get out of our now logjammed streets so I opted to go to Cameron's school with the triplets and wait the half hour there until he got dismissed. By the time I returned, the fire was mostly out with only smokey hot spots here and there. It turns out the fire was at the next door neighbor of the house diagonally behind ours. I got to check out the damage from a deck of our neighbor's house that was directly behind the fire. The entire house is gutted....there is NOTHING left inside. The shell is still standing but the roof is partially collapsed. I walked over there this afternoon with the boys and there are still tons of firefighters and firetrucks camped at the scene looking for hotspots. One truck has it's huge ladder extended up to the top of the two story house where a few firefighters are piece by piece dismantling the house. As of last check, the cause of the fire is unknown. Ironically, the house that burned is the only house in our community that is (was) identical to ours right down to the color of shutters.

The family that lives (or lived) at the house was fortunately not home at the time of the fire and I am unaware of any injuries or missing pets. The homeowners were there by the time I walked over later and they obviously are in shock. I will try going back later to see how I can help. I believe they have 2 small children as well.

I must say it is a day like today where your life can really flash before your eyes. I was certain when I walked out of my house today that I would never walk back in it based on the severity of the neighboring blaze. I walked out with my kids and the clothes on my back and that was all that mattered to me. I know I will hug my boys just a little tighter tonight and I hope you will do the same with your loved one.