I had realized that my car was parked up close to the house and that it would be a good idea to move it before the fire got worse, however my hands were shaking very badly and I was trying to hold the dog and I could not find my car keys.
I dumped the contents of my purse on the ground (in the dark) before my friends could stop me (obviously I was not thinking clearly and months later was still finding bits of dried leaves and grass in my pocket book). They were able to take charge and find my keys and get my car moved down the street to a safe location.
Firemen began to arrive, some of them changing into their gear on the neighbors lawn. They all asked that important question "Is there anyone left inside?". Fortunately there was not. We were truly blessed to have gotten out safely, with our little black dog, and with not a hair on our head singed or even a cough from breathing any smoke.
(The next day we spoke to one of the chiefs who was a first responder on the scene. He said that he was shocked to see how quickly and far the fire had spread in the few short minutes from the call until they arrived.)
Soon the fire trucks arrived and started setting up -- from the size and intensity of the fire, they immediately knew that the structure was a loss and they were simply working to keep it from becoming worse and spreading to my neighbors homes.
A large extension went out from one of the trucks and started spraying the top of the house and the trees. Holes were cut in the fence from the back and through my neighbors yard so that the firemen could get their equipment into the back yard.
At some point early in the fire, I started crying about my many scrapbooks that were burning and my friend Tricia hugged me and said "Its ok, you are safe and you can make new scrapbooks." Then through my tears I said "Oh, I left my phone in the house so I don't have a camera ... can you go and take some pictures of my house for my fire scrapbook?" :) She asked if I was serious (I'm a scrapbooker -- of coures I was serious! lol) and then ran closer to the house to take some photos. She got some great shots and even took a little video of the house for me. She came back chuckling saying that one of the firemen was 'giving her the stink-eye'. I am so glad she did this as I knew even though I was upset at the time, the record keeper and scrapbooker in me would want to have a record of how I felt and what I saw during this event.
I like this picture the best as you can see more of the extent of the fire -- how it is burning on both sides of the house.
And here is a short (few seconds long) video she took of the house burning before the firemen started to put it out ... you can hear the crackling of the flames and she was across the street from the house while taking the video:
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