A hard weekend

[David S]

Saturday morning, as i was sitting down the the computer to write a letter, I got a phone call from my older sister.  My parents house was on fire.  This is a house they built about 30 years ago after we all got out of school.  It was to be the house where they spend the rest of their years.  

BOTH my mom and dad escaped the flames, they got out with the cloths on their back and were unharmed physically.  Emotionally they are strong people, but it is very hard on them.  

They had an energy efficient home and the fire spread quickly.  The phrase; "It took off like a house on fire" Is a very accurate phrase. All that survived of the structure is the garage that was attached to the house.  A few exterior stone walls are still standing, but because of the heat of the fire will need to come down because the integrity of the mortar has been compromised.

My older sister is able to put them up until they can rebuild.  We are very blessed that mom and dad were not hurt.  

I just wanted to share.  It is hard to believe and still feels very surreal.  When I got the call from my sister, I grabbed what I could and hit the road for the 2 1/2 hour drive to PA to be with them.  It has been a long and emotional weekend.

I just needed to tell someone with a listening ear.  Thank you.

[mustfocus]

Hey David,

Really sorry to hear that.  At least your parents got out alive.  Did they find out what caused the fire?  Hopefully they'll bounce back quickly.

[maxx]

David I'm really sorry to here that.My thoughts are with you and your family in this tragedy

[David S]

Did they find out what caused the fire?

They had a wood stove in a sun space.  The air handlers kicked in, which only do that after the air in the sun space gets to 80 degrees.  When my dad went to investigate he said he saw flames at the base of the chimney where the stove pipe was connected.

[Willy The Londoner]

Well that is so sad David.

Not only do they lose their home but also a lifetime of memories.

As Mike says we are here to listen.

Willy

[Ying]

Hi David:
     Although the house is on fire, but your parents and family members were not hurt, this is very thankful.God bless you and your family.
       Ying and Robert

[chen yan]

David, I hope your parents feel calm now, Now there has a brand new life they can look forward to.

Hi David:
     Although the house is on fire, but your parents and family members were not hurt, this is very thankful.God bless you and your family.
       Ying and Robert

Ying, nice to see you back to the forum again!

[shaun]

David,

I am real sorry to hear about your parents fire.   Having been though that with a parent I know how you feel.

Since I have been through that I would like to offer a bit of helpful information.    You say there is an existing garage.  If there are personal items in there and things that can be salvaged I would move them all elsewhere like a rental storage facility.  Unfortunately there are people that will steal whatever is left.  Sad but true.  I wouldn't wait.  If there is someone that can do it today then do it.  No one is living there and no one is watching, it is the perfect opportunity for a thief and they won't hesitate to do it.  My father lost a lot of stuff in a fire.  He lost almost everything else to thieves.

[metooap]

David,

very sorry to hear this.

Though many memories were lost - your parents were not harmed.

We wish you the best. if you need anything, if we can help, please let us know.

Alton

[Zhuzhu]

David,

i am sorry to hear about the fire, but really lucky that your parents are fine. I wish they could get to normal life again.

[Martin]

Sorry to hear about your families loss, but happy to hear they escaped unharmed!

I want to second what Shaun said.  As both the victim of a house fire, and a former volunteer fire fighter (10 years), make sure to properly secure any salvageable property.  People will not think twice to pick clean what little a fire victim has left.  The common attitude is, "who cares, they have insurance."  But having gone through this myself, and having lost almost everything, it is nice to have a few remnants of a life before a fire.

I hope your parents can rebuild quickly.

[Scottish_Rob]

David not been in for a few days...
Sorry o hear the news.


The good thing (if there is such a thing) is that it was only possesions that were lost...NOT life..

Hope everything works out for you all...

[Josh Markley]

David,

  In times like these we all realize how precious life is.  Your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.  As a concensus we are all grateful your parents are safe and sound.

[David S]

Thank you everyone for your kind words.  It is very true that we are lucky to have not had anyone hurt.  We are just starting to understand the scope of how we are truly blessed.  If it had happened just as little as an hour earlier my folks would have still been sleeping, if it had happened a few hours later my niece who was planning on taking food to a church social but changed her plans to bring the food to the family to help out in the hour of need would not have happened.  The overall timing is starting to break through also, understanding that the economy is slow and that many builders are "hungry" for work will keep their re-building costs lower.  These are just a very few things that we are starting to understand.  I am sure as time goes by we will have a much clearer understanding, but we always, as a family try to find the up side to any event.

Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers, they are truly appreciated.

David

[Irishman]

David, great to see that you are keeping positive. The most important thing is that your folks are OK.
Who knows, maybe their new house will be even nicer than the last one! The location looks lovely, I bet they have nice views from high up there?