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Glad I could help. Folks around here new I was a die-hard Pollyanna when my own house did burn down.
My husband just recovered from surgery to relieve the symptoms of an inoperable brain tumor (benign) and had only been back to work for a couple of weeks, and we had no homeowner's insurance (couldn't afford it - it's HIGH around here). It was just before Christmas, and every spare dime we could come up with had been spent on Christmas presents for our two girls, who were still small at the time, and family. Our shopping was almost done, only had a couple more gifts to go (the Santa gifts!). The girls went to spend the weekend at my parents house and DH and I were getting ready to go shopping when the dog started whining. The smoke alarms suddenly went off and we were at a total loss. Couldn't see any smoke - the only smoke we could smell was from the woodstove - we had just emptied the ash pan. I had a head full of shampoo and was running around without glasses looking for the source of the problem. I opened the back door and there was black smoke coming out from underneath the house (well, mobile home). DH grabbed a hose and dived under the house and I ran across the road to the neighbors to call the fire department, because once the smoke became noticeable, it rapidly filled the house. DH passed out under the house, but the neighbor was able to drag him out before turning off the propane and electric service to the house (we hadn't thought to turn it off). DH woke up pretty quick - I was
glad he hadn't stopped breathing!
By the time the fire department arrived from Seminole, the house was a total loss. They had the fire out within a half hour. The fire chief quickly determined that the cause of the fire was a pinhole leak in the flex line running to the hot water tank (I will never have a gas/propane hot water tank again!). He said it was a miracle that the house didn't explode, because there was evidence of propane gas still under the house when they first arrived, so there must have been quite a bit. I had been complaining about smelling gas for weeks and had been having terrible headaches - probably from CO fumes. DH had blown it off as being my imagination - boy did he feel like a heel!
The house was a total loss, but - the upside was: We were able to salvage all of our furniture with a lot of elbow grease and a rented steam cleaner. Our dishes and pots and pans
melted, but they were easy enough to replace, with the help of our very close-knit community. Same for our clothes - most were irreparably heat damaged - but Salvation Army gave us a bunch of clothes. I was upset about losing all of our family photos, but we discovered that a wall had collapsed over the chest that the pictures were in. A few were smoke damaged, but most survived - I was ecstatic!
We just happened to have enough $$ in savings to pay cash for a new mobile home that was bigger and nicer than the one that burned. A neighbor came over with a big tractor and pulled the burned out mobile home out of the way, and the new mobile home was delivered just one week after the old one burned.
All in all, we lost one painting that had been given to us by a family friend as a wedding present. The painting had great sentimental value, but we could survive it's loss. We also lost our cat, Midnight. He had run back into the house to get away from the sirens and big vehicles that were pulling up. We didn't even realize he had gone back inside until one of the fire fighters found his body after the fire was out. The girls' beds survived and only needed to have the matresses cleaned, but DH and I needed a new bed - our room was at the end of the house that was the most badly damaged.
I never really thought of that fire as a tragedy - to me it was a challenge - and I tried to help the rest of the family to see it the same way. It really helped. Now I have a daughter that is facing a daily challenge just to stay alive - she has a terrible case of Lupus. It's destroying her kidneys and affecting her heart. We nearly lost her this past summer. However, with the help of God, Elizabeth has faced her "challenge" with grace and dignity - and a sense of humor that makes me proud!
So guys - try to look at the bright side - there are few real tragedies in life - but we have a LOT of "challenges!"
I'll stop being a Pollyanna, now...
Don't ever stop being a Pollyanna - your positive attitude is a wonderful inspiration.
Thanks for sharing what must have seemed like a very difficult time of your life, when you first experienced it.