Yesterday's Fire

Okay, as promised, I have a few pictures of yesterday's house. The house was in an old farmhouse back down a long dirt farm lane. And yes, we took the engines and the truck back down this lane. Let's just say, we did not get stuck and it was a nice fun mini roller coaster ride back down the lane.

But to give you a clue as to the lane's condition, brush trucks were being used to bring fire fighters back to the house. And we picked up some extra people at the top of the lane.

The fire was out by the time we got there. (We had about a 10 minute drive.) But we still  had to overhaul the fire room and the next room. And overhaul is just another word to say that we had the dirty work of cleaning out the burnt stuff and trying to save what we could.

While the guys shoveled the debris out, I was going through the clothing and the toys in both rooms seeing what could be saved and would had to be tossed out. There were quite a few small stuffed animals in the room and I had to make the decision to toss them. I also had to toss the bedsheets off the beds.

Once the smell of smoke from a house fire gets into textiles, you will never get it out no matter what you do. I really wished that I could have saved some of the kids stuffed animals but there was just no way.

If you have kids at home and they have quite a few stuffed animals and toys that they do not play with, I am going to suggest that the kids themselves go through their toys and set some of them aside. Talk to your kids and tell them what happens to kids toys after a house fire and see if they would like to donate them to a family in your area who has had a fire in their house. This is also a good time to go through the kids clothing and pull out what they do not wear or have outgrown. The easiest way to donate the clothing is to contact your local Red Cross chapter and tell them that you have kids clothing and toys that you would like to donate to families that have been displaced by a house fire. They will work with you. The Red Cross provides the families a place to stay and some money to replace to some of what is lost. But kids do not always understand the money and want toys. This is just a suggestion but it does make a difference to the kids.

And just so you know, it is my niece who came up with this idea. She is 9 years old and one of the things on her Christmas list is $100 to use to buy warm clothes for kids whose parents can not afford to buy them warm clothes. This idea is entirely her own. And when I questioned her that she would not be upset if I bought warm clothes and donated them to a family that needed them and that would be her present. Her answer was that was what she wanted for Christmas. (And I did make her a present.) My SIL has been cleaning out the toys that are not played with and we have been getting the toys to families that need them at my niece's urging.

Knitting will resume shortly.

Comments

[Bron]

What a great story about your niece - you must be so proud of her. :)

[atpanda]

That is a great idea! My husband's department keeps bears on their engines. Sometimes kids just need a little comfort after something so traumatic.

Good site!

-atpanda at Putting out Fires-