MyMagicKingdom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2010
- Messages
- 411
Hi DISers, for a long time I've been thinking about starting some sort of blog where I can write about my thoughts and feelings about coping with my house being destroyed in a fire and hear from others about their experiences. Then I thought that this might be a good spot to talk with others who may have had similar experiences and give each other some support.
In July 2009, the day after DS's first birthday and a month and a half after our wedding, our home was destroyed by a fire. Some of the Mickey Mouse decorations that I had spent days making, were thrown about the yard, some burned, some intact. The Mickey table cloth was melted to the picnic table that DH had just refinished the week before. Various honeymoon gifts were still in boxes and of course, DS's birthday toys were still in the family room, waiting to find their places in our home. After a brief investigation it was discovered that there was an electrical fire in the wall and the chief believes that it may have been burning for a while before it got out of hand. We were told it was one of the worst house fires they've seen in a very long time. We lost nearly everything, including our two cats that were family to us. We weren't home, thankfully, because had we been home we probably wouldn't have gotten out because of how the intensity of it and how quickly it got that way and DS's bedroom, specifically his crib, was directly above the origin of the fire.
Something that weighs on me to this day is that the day before, during DS's birthday party, I thought I smelled something burning while I was plugging in the coffee pot, I had my brother and sister come smell it and they both thought they could smell something but none of us found anything and eventually the smell was gone so we thought nothing of it. The chief said there's no way we could've known but I still partially blame myself. Ironically, while our house was burning down, DH and I were at the movies with my brother while DS was with my parents, and we were watching the scene where the Weasley's house burns down in Harry Potter. When leaving the movie theater, DH and I both commented that we couldn't imagine ever having something like that happen. Little did we know...
I'm sure this is a jumble of information and thoughts. Its still hard for me to cope with, I think about it every single day. It makes me sick that I have no pictures from DS's first birthday. I nearly uploaded some pictures to facebook the night before, but was tired and decided to put it off until the next night. What if I hadn't? I'd have those pictures of my sweet little boy on his first birthday. I remember every single inch of the house before and after the fire. Although we've rebuilt a bigger house in the same location, I still miss our old house. Nearly three years later and our new house still isn't done because we chose to do a lot of work ourselves so we could build a house that our family could grow with. We live here, but there are little things not yet completed that would normally be done upon moving into a house.
Don't get me wrong, I think we're so blessed that we're all here and alive and okay (with the exception of our kitties) and not everyone is this lucky, but its still hard. Possessions are just that. I am so thankful to the emergency workers that were here that day and the support they've given us since. Until that day I had no idea that the FD near us was completely volunteer and I can't express our gratitude and admiration for them and anyone that risks their life for a stranger. This is a lot more long winded than I'd intended, but its nice to get this out in writing even if I don't happen to talk with anyone on here that's been through a similar experience. I still cry whenever I hear a fire alarm or see an engine go by, especially with emergency lights on. Just last month I saw, for the first time, another home on fire and DH and I broke down. DS has nightmares about the house burning down or DH and I dying. He's never seen the pictures of our house after the fire and we don't go into a lot of detail about it, but we answer his questions when he asks (in a kid friendly way) because we don't want to hide things from him, especially because a lot of people in our area still know us as "the people who's house burned down" and a lot of people still ask about it, especially when meeting us for the first time. After our ordeal we've tried to do whatever we can to support local families who experience a fire by donating whatever we can because so many people reached out to us. I'm grateful to have my family and friends and can't imagine if things had gone even slightly worse that day. One thing that this experience has been good for though, is making me love even more fiercely than before.
In July 2009, the day after DS's first birthday and a month and a half after our wedding, our home was destroyed by a fire. Some of the Mickey Mouse decorations that I had spent days making, were thrown about the yard, some burned, some intact. The Mickey table cloth was melted to the picnic table that DH had just refinished the week before. Various honeymoon gifts were still in boxes and of course, DS's birthday toys were still in the family room, waiting to find their places in our home. After a brief investigation it was discovered that there was an electrical fire in the wall and the chief believes that it may have been burning for a while before it got out of hand. We were told it was one of the worst house fires they've seen in a very long time. We lost nearly everything, including our two cats that were family to us. We weren't home, thankfully, because had we been home we probably wouldn't have gotten out because of how the intensity of it and how quickly it got that way and DS's bedroom, specifically his crib, was directly above the origin of the fire.
Something that weighs on me to this day is that the day before, during DS's birthday party, I thought I smelled something burning while I was plugging in the coffee pot, I had my brother and sister come smell it and they both thought they could smell something but none of us found anything and eventually the smell was gone so we thought nothing of it. The chief said there's no way we could've known but I still partially blame myself. Ironically, while our house was burning down, DH and I were at the movies with my brother while DS was with my parents, and we were watching the scene where the Weasley's house burns down in Harry Potter. When leaving the movie theater, DH and I both commented that we couldn't imagine ever having something like that happen. Little did we know...
I'm sure this is a jumble of information and thoughts. Its still hard for me to cope with, I think about it every single day. It makes me sick that I have no pictures from DS's first birthday. I nearly uploaded some pictures to facebook the night before, but was tired and decided to put it off until the next night. What if I hadn't? I'd have those pictures of my sweet little boy on his first birthday. I remember every single inch of the house before and after the fire. Although we've rebuilt a bigger house in the same location, I still miss our old house. Nearly three years later and our new house still isn't done because we chose to do a lot of work ourselves so we could build a house that our family could grow with. We live here, but there are little things not yet completed that would normally be done upon moving into a house.
Don't get me wrong, I think we're so blessed that we're all here and alive and okay (with the exception of our kitties) and not everyone is this lucky, but its still hard. Possessions are just that. I am so thankful to the emergency workers that were here that day and the support they've given us since. Until that day I had no idea that the FD near us was completely volunteer and I can't express our gratitude and admiration for them and anyone that risks their life for a stranger. This is a lot more long winded than I'd intended, but its nice to get this out in writing even if I don't happen to talk with anyone on here that's been through a similar experience. I still cry whenever I hear a fire alarm or see an engine go by, especially with emergency lights on. Just last month I saw, for the first time, another home on fire and DH and I broke down. DS has nightmares about the house burning down or DH and I dying. He's never seen the pictures of our house after the fire and we don't go into a lot of detail about it, but we answer his questions when he asks (in a kid friendly way) because we don't want to hide things from him, especially because a lot of people in our area still know us as "the people who's house burned down" and a lot of people still ask about it, especially when meeting us for the first time. After our ordeal we've tried to do whatever we can to support local families who experience a fire by donating whatever we can because so many people reached out to us. I'm grateful to have my family and friends and can't imagine if things had gone even slightly worse that day. One thing that this experience has been good for though, is making me love even more fiercely than before.
