03-31-15 Thankful

My mom is visiting us this week. Last night as we were all getting ready for bed, my mom got a call from my dad. He was calling to inform her that the next door neighbor's house was on fire. My parents' house is less than 20 feet from the neighbor's house. A fire had started in their garage. Soon someone in the neighborhood was pounding on my parents's door to tell them to evacuate. My sister nearly asleep upstairs. My dad ran upstairs and woke her up and they both got safely out of the house. Once outside they were greet by massive amounts of smoke and large billowing flames from the house next door. 

After a few moments of waiting, the fire department finally showed up. Eventually they were able to put the fire out, but not before much of the neighbor's house was destroyed. The heat from the flames did damage to my parents' house and several of the other nearby houses. 

Thankfully it seems no one was injured. While my parents' house was damaged, it did not catch fire (which considering how close together the houses are and how strong the wind was, they were very fortunate.) Firefighters went through the house to make sure it was safe. My mom went back today to survey the damages. My sister sent me some pictures. Fortunately the insurance will cover the damage. 

We pray that the rebuild process will go smoothly for everyone affected.

The side of my parents' house

The house across the alley... Everything melted!

The house that caught fire.

What a scary situation, but I'm so thankful that God kept my family safe.