Jamie's Fire Story - January 9, 1991
This is a copy of a letter I wrote to Elaine just after the fire:
Dear Elaine,
How are you? We're both fine - I suppose Mom has told you about our excitement - when the house almost burned!!! It was touch and go for awhile.
Wednesday morning (January 9, 1991) at 8 am, Don got up, lit the fire in the living-room stove, turned on KXL (all news radio), and came back to bed to wait for the house to warm up a little. (Later) the announcer said that it was 8:34 and I turned to Don and said that something smelled BAD.
So, he went out to check the stove, and the next thing I knew he was tearing the metal plates off the wall behind the stove and throwing things around. He ran into the kitchen and filled a pot with water and told me to fill pans, which I did. He poured the water into the wall behind the wood-stove, extinguishing the fire.
He ran into the bedroom and put on his clothes and shoes. I was still in the living room and looked up through the skylight and the entire roof (in that area) was on fire and the skylight was burning. So, I started screaming, "The skylight's on fire get the hose!"
Don ran outside, got the hose, and turned it on, got the ladder and climbed onto the roof, and sprayed water all over the place. He was a hero. He burned and cut his hand tearing up hot metal either on the roof or earlier in the living room, or both. He was blistered later. He was up on the roof in all that poisonous smoke and heat not knowing if he'd be able to get off the roof if the fire wasn't put out.
Of course, I was doing important things too: Jumping up and down, wringing my hands, and yelling, "The skylight's on fire. The skylight's on fire!" (Just in case he hadn't noticed, ya know!) And other brilliant observations. I did un-kink the hose and move it for him when he told me to.
At some point I realized that I was running around on gravel in P.J.'s and bare-feet. So, I went into the house to get my boots and robe on. I also checked the attic to see if it was OK - lots of smoke - no obvious fire. The house was OK too - just smoke.
I went back outside. By this time the fire had spread to the shingles on the side of the house and under the gutter on the main house (our bedroom wall). Don couldn't see the fire from where he was on the living-room roof - so, I was telling him where to spray.
And at this point - for some reason - I decided to go back and check inside the house (we both feel that our guardian angel must have tapped me on the shoulder - 2 or 3 minutes later and it would have been out of control.
The fire had exploded through the living-room ceiling where it attaches to the main house (main burn). Don's tapestry from Japan had burned and fallen behind and over the couch. That was burning. Hot coals were all over the couch and rug. Another smaller fire had burned through the ceiling over the wood stove. The main burn was burning like a blow-torch. A picture on the wall by the kitchen door - 10' away from the fire - melted and buckled.
I ran into the kitchen and pulled the fire extinguisher off the wall (breaking the plastic strap holding it!), ran into the living room, read the directions, pulled the pin, and couldn't get it to work. Threw it down, ran outside, yelled that the living room was on fire, pulled the hose away from Don, ran back into the house. Sprayed water on the flames and coals at ground level, then climbed onto the back of the couch and started pouring water into the main burn. At this point I figured we were going to lose everything.
Don climbed down from the roof and ran in, saw me standing on the back of the couch spraying water into the inferno, and he also thought that everything was lost.
But, we got it put out. I'm still not sure how. Don climbed up into the attic - all smoke/little oxygen, and crawled to the far end (by the living-room) to make sure the fire hadn't burned through the wall. There wasn't any fire or hot spots on the wall. I was afraid he would pass out, but he made it back down -lots of coughing and choking.
It was 9:45 am. Probably the shortest hour of my life!!!!
We'll have to replace the roof and ceiling and the wall behind the wood-stove. Maybe some rafters. But, other that, damage was minimal.
The carpet is ruined, but I was planning on getting rid of it and the one in our bedroom this summer (bare floors are easier on allergies). So, that's no loss. The afghans and cover on the couch were scorched and wet, but the couch is OK - 2 small damp spots and one small scorched spot.
The VCR, TV and stereo speakers were right under and to both sides of the main burn, and are unharmed!!! The speaker wires were burned through and will have to be replaced. The cover I made for the VCR is burned and was wet, but no water in the VCR or TV. The speakers were damp but they dried out.
Because the roof burned first, (the aluminum roofing melted!!) the smoke and steam from all the water must have all gone outside. We expected way more smoke and water damage. The skylight is ruined. Don put a couple of lines up in the kitchen so I can dry wet books and magazines.
We were really lucky. Murphy was hog-tied that day!!! Or busy giving someone else the shaft. Everything went right. Even the fire extinguisher not working was right. Don pulled the trigger later to find out what was wrong with it - and it worked for him - but I couldn't breathe - I had to run outside and cough and choke for awhile. If it had choked me earlier, I couldn't have wet things down so fast!!! And the fire probably would have been out of control before Don managed to get down from the roof.
We spent the rest of the day going around feeling the walls to make sure there was no fire lurking in any of them. We just couldn't believe that it was over and the house wasn't a smoking pile of rubble!!!
We've closed off the living-room and are living in the main house until we can fix things this spring. Don put a tarp over the roof to keep the rain out.
That's all the news from here. What's going on at your place??
Love, Jamie
Note: That was the Siberian Express winter. Our water was frozen for most of two weeks. We had to haul water in buckets from our spring. But, right in the middle of this cold time was a couple days of thaw and we had water - that's when the fire happened. Two days either way, and we would have had no water to put it out.