But sound aloud the praises, and give the victor-crown
To our noble-hearted Firemen, who fear not danger’s frown.
~Frederic G.W. Fenn, “Ode to our Firemen,” 1878

Friday, February 25, 2000, was a wet, cold day which was to be a very busy one…little did we know. My boys and I were downstairs finishing up several 4H projects we had been working on. Tomorrow the boys would be giving their 4 H presentations in front of a panel of judges. Nathaniel, age nine, was finishing his projects on ornithology, the study of birds and Alexander, age six, was completing his painting of the ocean’s layers.

We had a wonderful time as we worked tirelessly on all of these projects for the last few months. Hanging from the ceilings were paintings of raptors that the Stonykill Environmental Center loaned us. There was a box filled with owl pellets, bird nests and different colored eggs. A dear family friend loaned Alex all of the seashells she had collected with her family over the years. The boys were anticipating sharing all they had accomplished and learned with the judges. Once we finished the last minute preparations, I planned to take a few minutes to review my study notes for this afternoon’s Ladies Bible Study, dinner was already in the crock pot and the dessert had been made.

On this particular day it felt unusually hot downstairs. Perhaps I was coming down with something? Lucky, one of our two precious cats, came running downstairs making a great deal of noise. Lucky was my precious kitty that we rescued after my sister found her in the woods of Massachusetts. She had been abandoned by her mother because she had conjunctivitis…aha, she wanted attention! We had been very busy after all! Of course, it was her turn to play. I quickly took her from the cloth that was on the floor. Alex had been painting the ocean’s layers and I could just see little paw prints painted all over the rug. “Give us just a second to clean up and we’ll play with you.” Little did I know that Lucky’s persistence would later save our lives. Lucky was trying to warn us of the fire that was raging inside our walls. She continued her attempts at getting my attention.

At this point I realized that the heat was getting worse and then I saw smoke all around the ceiling. Our first home had been built in the 1950’s and had only tiny windows and no exit. I looked up the stairs and saw bright orange flames. Had I left the stove left on? Was the dishwasher on fire? I had no clue what the source of this fire was, but I quickly realized that we had only one exit and we must get upstairs and out of this house. Each of my boys, ages ten and seven, took my hands. As we walked up the stairs of our basement we quickly realized that the fire was also inside our walls. Our furnace, which we had just passed by, was located downstairs and had caught fire. The flames quickly went throughout our duct work. The flames now rolled out of every vent and crevice of our home. The walls were hot to the touch, the stairs burned your feet and your eyes stung from the smoke.

Needless to say, we all got out of our home alive, except for our beloved pets which saved our lives. Seconds after we escaped, the furnace blew and our home was now engulfed in flames. I watched in horror as everything we owned was now ashes. I remember running from that house with our children and remember seeing firemen running INTO our house. This was a four-alarm fire. Four different fire departments responded to the call. They were not only trying to put the fire out, but save our precious pets. Not only did these men risk their lives, but they presented up with a large check ca week later from the four fire departments and there families…tears roll down my face as I type this post and relive this memory!

That day we started a tradition of thanksgiving and appreciation for all firemen. Our family brings a basket of goodies to the firemen every year, and although we have moved twice since that fire, every firemen, especially our volunteer firemen who are sometimes the first responders, deserve our gratitude!

A few days later my husband and I walked into what was left of our home. the blackened walls were covered in large hand prints from the firemen, the heroes, who had risked their lives to help our family, our pets and our neighborhood! Our basement, where the boys and I had been, looked like the inside of a charcoal grill! You had to carefully go down the steps because most of them were burned to a crisp and almost nonexistent. Our pets lost their lives that day, we lost every book, even those with our boys names and the dates of the first time they read a particular book, all of our pictures, childhood items, and those things we held dear, but as we drove down the road to our hotel, I turned to look at my family and said, “We’re home!”

Join me on Saturday, November 13, 2010 for Firefighter’s Appreciation Day! Have the kids make a card and drop off at your local fire department with your favorite snack or baked good!

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