I was lucky enough to have Friday off, so I went to the gym and ran some errands. Friday night we went to a comedy taping of Nick Swarsdon, our favorite "Grandma's Boy" actor. The live show was taped for his upcoming Comedy Central tour "Seriously, Who Farted?" Laughs were a dime a dozen and we were in great company. We even met up for dinner beforehand and the laughs definitely started early.
Hubby was supposed to be out of town all day Saturday to complete his hunter's education course, but the judge granted him a 90 day extension late Friday night. We had already canceled dinner plans with some friends because of the class, so when Hubby's godparents invited us to dinner and a performance by one of the musicians they are backing, we jumped on the offer. We arrived around 6:30pm, and started socializing with the friends that had already arrived as well as his godparents. Around 7pm the smoke detectors start screaming and we all look around puzzled from the kitchen table. We weren't grilling out, so why would the alarms be going off? Hubby and godfather notice smoke on the porch and go barreling out the front doors, only to run to the side of the house and see the side garage was in flames!
We quickly called 911, and hubby and the other boys grabbed garden hoses and tried to keep the fire away from the $50,000 studio they had completed a few months ago. Luckily, they were able to put the fire that was engulfing the cedar posts, and saved the studio. The rest of us ran frantically into the house to try and save whatever we could. I grabbed old photos, albums, pictures on the walls, sculptures. The boys saved the heavier items that meant a lot to the family. I was in the kitchen trying to save some items when the tires on the car in the garage exploded and scared the living daylights out of me. This was a rapidly moving fire, and it was too late to save anything in the living room or upstairs bedroom and office. The smoke was just too thick. Hubby was instructing everyone on what to do, and what to save. When the firefighters arrived, they kept asking him which firehouse he belonged to because he was so in charge and efficient!
What felt like a lifetime for the fire department to arrive, was actually only 7 minutes. That meant we had 5 safe minutes to grab anything we could and get out. We tried to find the car keys, because our godmother had just gotten a new car, with only 150 miles on it, but it was too late to save it. It melted to the ground, so bad the VIN number disappeared!
In all, 11 fire trucks were on the scene and it was amazing. I've never seen a raging inferno in person, and this fire had a life of its own. Once everyone was safe and at the cottage next door, the tears start streaming down my face. I can't imagine losing my pictures and heirloom jewelery. I was so sad looking, the police and firemen kept asking me if I was the homeowner. I had to laugh and tell them I was uber-dramatic, and the homeowner was the woman in orange who was remarkably calm. It took the firefighters over 3 hours to fully extinguish the fire and hot spots. 
We finally left the house around 12am and were thoroughly exhausted. We woke up early on Sunday and went back over to the house armed with everyday provisions and necessities, since they had lost most of that stuff in the fire. They were in surprisingly good spirits, and we were ready to get to work. Once the insurance company had documented the mess, we got to work with video cameras and digital cameras documenting everything that had been destroyed. The air was acrid with the smell of smoke, so we were sure to wear masks. We salvaged what we could and packed it up to the front of the house to air out. All of their clothes were ruined as well as major electronics, etc. All in all, I was very surprised at how much was salvagable. Their son's room only had minor water and smoke damage, and we saved a lot. We spent about 5 hours helping out and then went home to rest and muster up some strength for Easter dinner. It was a very dramatic Easter to say the least!
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