We recently received this email from a reader and have been thinking about it pretty much ever since. So we thought we’d share it in the hope that Melanie’s story will help others out there who may have gone through the same experience and people like us who probably don’t know a thing about being prepared for something of this magnitude. Here’s a photo that Melanie sent to us.
Here’s her letter:
I’ve been stalking following your blog for just over a year thanks to making an offer on a short sale home in September of 2009. It was our dream and forever home. We spent the first two months washing, priming, and painting every single wall and ceiling. We replaced every hinge, door knob, light fixture, window treatment, and put in beautiful hardwood floors on both main levels and the stairs. You name it, we most likely did it.
Sadly, on Thursday January 6th, just before 6am I woke to the sound of two second story windows shattering followed by bright lights. I peeked into our guest bedroom and flames had just begun to enter, the smoke detectors went off seconds later. My husband, our 2.5 year old son, and I escaped safely with just the clothes on our backs. We had no shoes, socks, coats, or hats in subfreezing temps. Just each other and the love of our neighbors, friends, and families. It was quickly determined to be accidental, but we lost it all including my car. Our 2.5 story 2,000+ square foot home, plus in-law suite burned to the ground very quickly (one estimate was 30-60 minutes). Within hours we also learned of the love from acquaintances and strangers in our community and beyond.
We are very lucky to have each other and our lives- but our home, and all of the hard work and DIY projects we had done were gone so very quickly. We’ve already spent five hours documenting the structure of the house, and now begins the grueling task of itemizing each and every personal belonging. We’ve learned some of the “what would we do differently” as a result of this fire, that I’m hoping you consider for yourselves and might share with your readers:
- Subscribe to an online data backup service (my external back up drive sat right next to my laptop in my office)
- Keep passports in a safe deposit box
- Take pictures of each room initially and update them as improvements are made (storing them somewhere offsite – like Flickr)
- Take pictures and keep hyperlinks of all expensive purchases, including jewelry
- Hire an architect (my dad in our case) or use floorplanner.com to document each floor layout along with precise wall/ceiling measurements, each outlet, light switch, crown molding, other trim, type of flooring, any unique items to structure of property
- Put phones in a consistent place each night
- Get fire ladders for any second floor bedrooms
- Scan each photo and receipt, again keeping them offsite, or on an online data backup service
- Do not be frugal with homeowner’s insurance. Spend the extra $50 per year for the most coverage
Thank you for reading this and passing it along to your readers. -Melanie
Below is actual video of Melanie’s house. We can’t even imagine what she has been through:
We also got an email from a reader named Robin a while back. Her house nearly burned down at 2am on a Saturday morning. She and her family were thankfully able to get out safely and their home should be livable again in about three months. She also shared what she learned, so that we (and all of you) might be able to learn from her experience:
- Toasters aren’t the only appliances that burn. The source of Robin’s fire surprised us: her dishwasher. Her family was in the habit of starting the dishwasher as they headed off to bed – something John and I used to do as well – and it malfunctioned and sparked the fire. She sent us this photo to drive home the point. Along with reminding us to avoid running appliances overnight or when we’re out, Robin taught us that sending in the warranty card on all electronics is a must, since it’s the best way to ensure that you’ll get notified if there’s a defect or a recall.
- Robin also taught us that if your home has hard-wired detectors, be sure to have battery-powered ones as well. That way you have a back-up alarm in case of a power outage (which often happens during a fire). And remember to check the batteries twice a year. People often suggest doing it when you change the clock for daylight savings in the spring and fall as an easy way to remember. If you have children, consider installing a Talking Smoke Alarm in their room. Robin learned that studies show that kids under 17 often don’t respond to a traditional alarm, but they do respond to their parents’ voices. So these talking versions allow you to record a message that could even include instructions or comforting words.
- Robin learned first hand that despite living in her house for over two decades, the panic of a fire makes it easy to lose your bearings and become disoriented – especially if you’ve got smoke to deal with. Which is why she recommends figuring out at least two ways you can get yourself and others out of your house (in case one is blocked) and, if you have a second or third level, make sure at least one doesn’t rely on a stairwell (fire and smoke love traveling up stairs). Then practice your plan until it’s second nature.
Robin’s tip about the talking smoke alarm actually reminded us of a something my sister Emily learned while teaching fire safety to her kids. Emily decided to have a fire drill at home, and after talking through the route, reminding them to stay low, and pointing out that it might be hot and filled with smoke the kids were given the “Ready, set, go-go-go!” Olivia, who was about seven at the time, froze in place and started crying because the scenario was so scary. It was a huge wake up call to all of us because if this was her reaction during a drill, just imagine what she’d do if the house really were dark, hot, and smoky. As scared as Olivia was, Emily was grateful that she had a chance to talk her through it, put in some practice time, and improve her reaction response.
Thanks so much for Melanie and Robin for sharing their stories and their tips with us. We can’t even begin to imagine what it would feel like to be in their shoes, but we’re so glad to hear that their families were unharmed and that everyone from their friends to their community has shown them some serious love and support. And speaking of love, we’re sending out lots of it- along with a huge thanks to both ladies for thoughtfully taking the time to share such an important message.
Donna says
If this hasn’t been mentioned–you should always unplug toasters and hair dryers and any appliance that doesn’t need to be plugged in unless it is being used. And never set anything on a stove/burners unless it’s a pot with food or water in it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten to shut a burner off right away and then a towel landed on it or a piece of paper or plastic.
Scary stuff!
Another tip, put your address up by your phone. You expect to be able to remember stuff like that in an emergency, but you’d be surprised. It is especially helpful for children who might become flustered during an emergency. I once had to call 911 when a tree branch pulled our electrical wiring from the house. I had to call from my cell phone (also–always have a phone that is just a phone and doesn’t require a wall plug for an answering maching/charger somewhere in your house) and I was so flustered i couldn’t spit out my city and address.
Jessica F. says
Thank you for posting this. A big heartfelt ‘I’m so sorry’ goes out to Melanie and Robin. I am incredibly impressed and touched by the selflessness it took Melanie to write this amidst this tragedy. My heart goes out to them and their families. I think even the most “prepared” people can learn from this and I am very grateful to Melanie and Robin for sending this and you and John for sharing it. Thank you again for the wake-up call.
Kara says
Wow, this post had eerie timing. I live in the city, and there was a two-alarm fire in the apartment building directly across from us two days ago that ended up spreading to the neighboring buildings. It was horrible to see, and had us scrambling to make sure our own apartment was fire-safe. For those that live in multi-unit buildings – remember that your actions can help protect everyone else in the building, but also that not everyone will be as careful as you are. Make sure you have working smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher, and that you know how to work the fire escape! Thank you guys for alerting everyone to this important issue.
Lindsey says
So scary! I’m praying for both families. I have such a fear of a house fire I’m going to do all these things asap. Especially the talking fire alarm for my 2 year old’s room. Thank you so much for sharing.
Miranda says
As a volunteer firefighter, I see this way too much. It’s totally heartbreaking.
Thanks for posting on this – it’s a topic everyone is afraid about, but it can, and does, happen.
Pasc says
Last year, my fiancé amd I were watching a movie and the dishwasher was doing it’s business when we suddenly hear a dzzt dzzt sound. When we got to the kitchen, there was smoke coming out of it and the doog was burning hot.
Lucky enough it was a portable dishwasher, we unplogged it and got it out of the house fast.
I can’t even imagine if we would have left the house…
Sarah Grady says
Great post – and a great reminder to go through my house and take care of a) inventory for insurance, and b) back stuff up outside of the home. Thanks!
Catherine says
Thank you for posting this! I just learned so much. We always run our dishwasher at night, and the anecdote about your niece really hit home the importance of practicing with children. This is some scary stuff!
My heart goes out for these two families. They’re in my thoughts and prayers.
J'Anns says
OMG this is so sad. My heart goes out to her and her family. Thanks for the tips.
http://jannsboutique.blogspot.com/
Tara F says
Thank you for sharing this. It is unfortunate it had to be at the expense of Melanie and Robin and their horrible situations. I really appreciate the effort it took them to share these tips and thoughts. Thank you to both, and to you for sharing and remember that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger!
Casie says
I can definitely relate to this post. I live in California. When I was a sophomore in high school, our house burnt down on Christmas night. We were celebrating with my grandparents and came home to a house that was covered in flames. It was the hardest time our family of 6 had ever faced. Over the next year, we itemized each item in our home as best as we could. We would even go to the grocery store to price out all of the grocery items that had been in our kitchen, etc. We accounted for everything. We slowly had the 50-year old home rebuilt into an amazing new home that my parents still live in. Even though that year was so hard, it made our family who we are today. We worked together so hard every day and got to see our community we lived in come together. We definitely saw beauty come from ashes. The items that we still miss the most are the pictures. I would highly suggest backing up photos somewhere.
Mary says
Do you know the reasoning behind her 5th tip regarding documenting the layout of the house, outlets etc?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Mary,
I believe when you’re trying to get homeowners insurance to cover certain things, having a layout of your house is invaluable to substantiate how much molding and how many outlets, etc you had. Maybe Melanie will clarify if she gets a moment. We know she’s busy!
xo,
s
melarse (Melanie) says
Mary – In order for the insurance company to issue us (and the bank holding our mortgage) they needed to know every last little detail about the house, as everything single thing has value. If we had 5 outlets and only remembered 3, well we’d only get reimburesed for 3, if we couldn’t recall how wide our stairs were (approx 4 ft-custom) we’d get reimbursed for only standard stairs. Everything adds up. Because we’d done so much work in the house, and my father being an architect we were in a much better situation to refer to specifics, like how many linear feet of glass cabinets, or standard cabinets, shelving, and/or granite countertops, than the average person. We were lucky in that way, I’ve heard others have not been and been short-changed their pay-back.
We needed to be accurate so that we can rebuild a house comparable to what we just lost.
Hope that helps!
Hanna says
My heart goes out to Melanie and her family, and to all families that have lost homes, pets, and loved ones in a fire.
After reading your post I immediately called my home owners insurance carrier and upped my coverage — something I have been meaning to do for a while but kept putting off.
Thanks. :)
jannell says
My heart goes out to these two ladies and their families. So horrible. Their tips are so logical and yet things most of us probably don’t think of.
My boyfriend was in the process of building a building a few years ago, when 4 days before the signing it burned to the ground. The culprit- a faulty auto shutdown switch in a printer.
Having practice fire drills like you suggested is also a good idea. The house I grew up in used to be a school for a little while and had a secondary smoke alarm system that would randomly go off. It tripped in the middle of the night and while my parent, sister and I ran around in confusion checking on pets and seeing if there was a real fire anywhere, my mom became frantic because she couldn’t find my 4 yr old brother. Then we looked out the window and he was standing out in the street in his pjs and socks- exactly what we had practiced.
Nikky says
I can relate to these. When I was 13, our dryer overheated and caught the clothes sitting on a nearby table on fire. My mom was gone and my dad was asleep. My three youngest siblings (who were 4, 2 and 1 1/2 at the time) came running in. The four year old said “the kitchen is foggy!”. Luckily we all made it out, except for our cat who was trapped in the basement where the fire was. It was devastating, it had been my grandma’s house, both my mom and I had been raised in it (my mom and step dad had 5 kids together – before he took off two weeks after the fire – so I lived with grandma and she raised me until she passed). It was rebuilt on the inside, but it never felt the same. It probably made it a little easier to leave after it was foreclosed on, though.
Hm. Cheery comment.
Anyway, great advice. It’s amazing how living through it really changes you though! My sense of smell is INCREDIBLE. Late fall when the heat comes on after a year off and burns the dust in the vents? That’ll wake me from a dead sleep nowadays!
Elizabeth says
Thanks for sharing this. Stories like this are why I never leave my dryer running when I am not at home, but I do run the dishwasher when I go to sleep…may have to re-think that one.
I also am amazed that $50 makes any difference in anyone’s homeowner’s insurance…our insurance in Florida is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive.
Tana says
I have not read all the comments, but did you guys hear about the house that burned down in our neighbord? The blackened shell still stands (on Wrens’ Nest Rd). Sadly, a mother and son were killed in that fire, the son was in my daughter’s class. The father threw himself out of the window and was last in the hospital last we heard.
Timely post. Another important tip (you might have covered it) is to not overload your electrical sockets, and use a professional electrician when renovating. The cause of the fire in the neighborhood was faulty wiring done that was not up to code.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, such a tragedy. It’s so scary to think how common house fires are.
xo,
s
Relevant Notes says
Thanks so much for sharing this. A close friend of mine lost her family’s house in a fire last year. Luckily everyone got out safely, but it was a big wake-up call for me to how real the possibility always is.
Sending prayers to Melanie and Robin <3
Helen says
Wow. It’s a good thing you shared this, because my husband and I just got married and bought our first home, and with the exception of a fire safe we don’t have or do any of those things. It occurs to me we don’t even have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. That is going to change TODAY.
Thank you again, and I’m very, very glad that they’re okay.
Jennifer K says
I can’t thank you enough for sharing this. When I got to Robin’s story, my jaw dropped. THAT IS OUR BOSCH DISHWASHER. And I’m so ashamed to say that I know it’s been recalled – we received a notice in the mail from Sears quite some time ago (actually, a long time ago) and I never acted on it. Well, I just called the recall hotline and a new control panel is on its way and a technician will be coming out to repair/install it. I’m so embarrassed that I didn’t do this earlier – but thanks to you guys and Robin, I’ve wised up.
My sympathies go out to Melanie and Robin – and gratitude for sharing their experiences with the rest of us.
Jamie says
Wow, I will never leave the dishwasher running unattended again!
Something else to think about: fire extinguishers – you can never have too many. And it’s probably worth the cost of wasting one to practice and make sure you know how to use it (just don’t do it in your house of course – those things make an awful mess).
A few weeks ago it occurred to me that our new house’s laundry is in a closet at the top of the stairs on the second floor, so you have to walk by it to get downstairs from all of the upstairs rooms. If we had a fire in our laundry area, we might be trapped upstairs! That’s when I bought another fire extinguisher and mounted it inside a closet in our master bedroom. If there were a fire in that area, hopefully we could extinguish it enough to safely get past and down the stairs.
Tiffany says
Thanks so much. I really learned alot and plan to implement these ideas with my family. I think you guys should save this post. You will save several lives.
Heather @ REOlisticRenovation says
What a sad and awful story. We really appreciate those tips and for Melanie to share her story with us. Thank you for this post.
Mindy@FindingSilverLinings says
My house burned down in 2003. We lost everything, just like the woman that posted this one. It makes you realize that all of your stuff is just stuff. Insurance is everything!! We were able to have an even nicer home than before.
Now that my husband and I bought our first home, we are already realizing how important it is to be well-insured. Our roof collapsed last week! See that here:
http://fisilis.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/raise-the-roof/
Thanks to great insurance coverage, we don’t really have to worry about finances for the unexpected house drama.
Great post. Thanks guys. I’m storing our wedding/honeymoon photos online right now.
xo
Mindy
diana says
I am so sorry, Melanie! Thank you for sharing your advice!
Barbara says
As the daughter of a cop and ex-fireman, may I add one thing?
Never, ever reenter a house on fire once you’re out. NEVER. Nothing you own is that important. Fires change rapidly and you could be trapped quickly.
I have to stress second story ladders too…TEST THEM. Make sure you aren’t afraid to use it, because when a fire happens, you can’t worry that you’re going to fall of the ladder. Do drills and do them often.
Kate says
Just a day or two ago there was a story on the news about a house that burned down where the father got his wife and kids out of the house but then went back in to try and stop the fire and ended up losing his life. It’s so sad to think that he had successfully gotten out but then died anyway. Even though losing your house is devastating, I’m sure losing your wife/husband/mother/father would be even worse.
Eric Reed says
Hi, my wife is an avid follower of your blog and she forwarded this string to me. I’m a fire protection engineer (http://www.sfpe.org/profession.aspx) and I work to prevent fires and to design safer buildings to ensure people can escape in the event of an emergency. I’m sorry to hear about Melanie’s loss. Fires are devastating events as many of your readers have confirmed.
It may be more information than your reader’s want but the following websites have tips for consumers regarding fire safety and there are some games for the kids as well.
http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=1491&URL=Safety%20Information
I’m not a blogger nor am I good at packaging things up in aesthetically pleasing presentations, unless its PowerPoint or on a blue-print size drawing, so feel free to not repost this directly. If you want to glean info from the websites or drive your readers there by including links in a post of your own, more power to you.
Thank you for posting Melanie’s story and increasing fire safety awareness.
Eric
Felicity @ Our Little Beehive says
Hey Eric – I don’t usually read through all the comments here, but just wanted to say thanks to you for posting this. (Hope that’s ok J&S!) I’m going to read through these tips tonight.
YoungHouseLove says
Of course! We love when people talk amongst themselves and share tips and info!
xo,
s
Justine @ you're so martha says
Thank you for sharing, I am saving these and implementing. I also didn’t know about not running appliances while gone or sleeping, good thing to know. I am so glad that everyone is safe.
Eleanor says
Wow – these two stories of the house fires bring back memories. My family’s house in Farmville, VA caught fire at 2am in the morning – back September ’98. I was away at college – but within minutes the entire house was engulfed & our 3600 sq. ft. home burned completely down – into the basement. Luckily, my parents & 3 siblings were able to get out, with the clothes on their back. We lost everything, including one pet and one vehicle in the garage.
It was an electrical fire that started in the attic. The first reader’s story is a lot like ours – as the fire burned but didn’t trigger the smoke alarms as the exhaust fans in the attic were pushing the smoke outside. Luckily, it caused a short in the wiring for the door bell & my family was awakened & alerted the fire that way! So lucky! The community outreach was amazing and we are forever thankful too.
It really puts things in perspective. What I wanted to pass along to those two readers who are in the midst of experiencing this horrific experience – is that time heals. Right now – 11 years later – it is just a sad memory. We do miss some of our family photos that we lost & weren’t able to replace via family or friends. Most importantly – we have each other & we have our memories. Time heals and it will do the same for them. (However, time does not change what our bodies now do in response to the sound of smoke alarms! Shew!)
Caitlin says
Thanks for sharing their stories; it’s definitely something that everyone needs to put some thought into.
On a lighter note, I love that you found the escape plan drawing on the Guelph.ca website, as I live in Guelph.
Michelle Kersey says
That’s a very good point about the children’s alarm! Never thought about that.
I don’t know if this had been mentioned, but I keep a fireproof box (well, it claims to be fireproof) in my house with all our legal documents, passports, birth certs, deed, and back up disks from our computer.
Rebecca says
My house (government apartment… my husband is in the military) was set on fire while he was deployed in 2005. I lived on the third floor of the building. One thing I learned, and have passed along, is that having smoke alarms is not enough. I didn’t know what our smoke alarm sounded like, and ignored the “alarm clock going off is someone else’s apartment” until someone knocked on my door to tell me the building was on fire! It is VITAL that people know the sound of their smoke alarm. In our case, it didn’t sound like a normal alarm. Luckily, everyone got out and the fire was contained before any real damage occurred to the upper apartments. We were very lucky.
Lisa says
Please keep us updated if you find out the families need anything. I can’t imagine how devastating it is to lose everything and have to start all over from scratch, especially in the midst of trying to take care of insurance and everything else. So glad everyone is OK.
Those talking alarms are amazing, thank you for posting. I never would have thought about the reactions kids might have to a regular alarm. I also worry a lot about our cat, who has a tendency to run and hide in any stressful situation.
We had a small fire start in our dryer, luckily when we were home. Our laundry closet isn’t in the best location for good venting and the vent pipes are incredibly hard to clean (tip — if your dryer vents through a PVC pipe, replace those suckers! PVC creates a static charge that grabs lint and causes a build up). Luckily we were home and awake — and I was about 7 months pregnant at the time, so my super preggo nose smelled it as soon as it started burning — but we learned it’s best to not run the dryer at night and we never leave it running when we aren’t home. It’s one of those things that passes an inspection, but it really isn’t the safest installation and we had no clue until we started researching it after the fact.
Jenny @ Bakography says
Thank you for this post. It had me crying at my desk thinking about how horrible that would be. This happened to my husbands family when he was very young. His mom still has her singed cookbook she cooks out of, and it reminds them all the time of the need to be smart about this kind of stuff.
Melody says
Thanks for sharing!
Cassie says
Any idea what caused Melanie’s fire? Both stories are so sad. It’s a good wake up call for all of us. Thanks for posting.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Cassie,
All we know is that it was deemed accidental.
xo,
s
Carrie says
So grateful that you shared this post. I couldn’t help but think about my 2 dogs as I read this, and realized I don’t have a sticker for my front door alerting emergency responders that they’re inside (and one is crated, so she wouldn’t be mobile to get to a door where she’d be visible to firefighters). Of course, I started the washing machine before I left this morning, a habit I’ll likely stop now. Anyone have suggestions about other ways to protect pets in an emergency such as a house fire?
Robin says
What a scary story! So glad everyone got out ok. This makes me think I need to buy a second floor escape ladder – never thought about that! On a sort of related note the best housewarming gift we received was a basket filled with smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, CO2 alarms and flashlight with extra batteries.
Marissa says
Thanks for posting. When I was 15, my aunt’s house burnt down and they lost everything, including their three pets. Because of an uphill battle with their insurance provider, it was almost two years of living in hotels and studio apartments before they were able to move back in to a re-built house. I have to admit, as much as a house fire scares me, the “after” scenario scares me just as much. Anyone have any tips on dealing with insurance companies after a disaster like this?
Jes says
Very heartbreaking stories. I cannot imagine. But, the talking fire alarms are awesome. I have 2. 1 in the basement and 1 in the hallway by the bedroom. They will wake up anything. I have the one in the basement programed to that location, so if it does go off, it sends a signal to the alarm upstairs (even if the smoke isnt there yet) and the alarm screams “SMOKE DETECTED IN BASEMENT… EVACUATE” I love the fact that it tells me where the smoke was detected. They are VERY expensive, but, well worth the extra cost…
Jen @ The Decor Scene says
Thank you for sharing. That was very emotional to read. Definitely lots of things to think about implimenting in our home. Things we all say we are going to do, need to do, have to do and just don’t do them. We do NOT have any appliance on unless we are home and we do NOT leave the dishwasher on over night. I have firefighters in my family and that was all I heard when we bought our home. And don’t leave the dryer running if you are not in the house either. Lint can start a fire very quickly if you don’t keep the dryer cleaned out properly. Plus if you don’t clean out the lint, the dryer doesn’t dry your close as well either.
Thank you for a very good reminder to all of us. My thoughts and prayers go out to Melanie & Robin and anyone else that has gone through something like this.
Lindsey S says
I know this was kind of “depressing” or serious but I think that’s a good thing. I would love to see more things like this. I know they may take awhile to put together and don’t really line up w/ the normal content BUT we all love our houses so much (and yours) it would be better to know how to protect them. Maybe a reader submission post? Or an insurance 101? Just a thought. LOVE you guys and your blog.
Kasey says
Fires are extremely scary and really change your life. The home I grew up in burned down when I was 17. It was completely torched. We used to heat with a woodstove in the winter and there was an extremely tiny crack in the chimney flue [we later found this out after the fire] and a cinder had gotten through that crack and started burning within the wall ALL day. By the end of the night it got out of control and within a matter of minutes the entire house was engulfed in flames. We lost everything… baby pictures, videos, all those memories from when my sister and I were little, gone. I didn’t care about the material things, but the videos from our trip to Disney in 94 and all of my baby photos I miss. I wish I had those today, to show my son when he gets older… but luckily we were ALL safe.
So for anyone who uses their fireplaces/woodstoves, make sure you have it properly maintenance and cleaned before you use it!
Paige says
So very sad. But, we need to be reminded to take the necessary steps, such as installing CO and fire detectors. Though I’m embarassed to admit it, we went almost a whole year without a working CO detector. We are on it now! We have a fire alarm for each floor and we have a safe box too with our passports. Your readers letter gave great tips. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Melissa @ A Place to Nest says
Thanks for passing this along. I am mostly glad that everyone in those families were safe. I appreciate them giving us all the wisdom to learn what they learned so we can prepare. I am a fireman’s daughter and thought I was pretty prepped for something like this. Honestly- I am not after reading this but I plan to be. Thank you again for sharing this.
Christina says
Thank you for this post. These families’ stories are heartbreaking, but I thank them for sharing their experiences. I have printed Melanie’s “what we would do differently” list and plan on making some of these things happen in our family ASAP.
Julie says
The fire alarm thing is TERRIFYING to me. I actually slept through the fire alarm in my bedroom going off until my husband woke me, so it’s not just children. Have you seen the video clip of the news story on it? A talking fire alarm is definitely on my “to do” list.
Emily says
So easy to forget this type of stuff – home safety – but is so important and needs to be discussed. A lot of us don’t think of these things until too late. Thanks for sharing, and thanks for the women for sharing their stories and ideas they’ve learned from the tragedies.
Christine says
Have you seen Edie’s post on her blog Life In Grace?
http://www.lifeingraceblog.com/2011/01/its-all-just-stuff.html
They lost their home to fire at Christmas…
Very sad…
Thank you for posting this I am going to put together a plan this weekend
YoungHouseLove says
So sad!
xo,
s
Alli says
Excellent post. My cousin and her family recently had a fire in their house as well. It started in their basement where my cousin’s husband had his office. It was actually his laptop battery that started it! He woke up to the smoke alarm in the basement and went downstairs when he smelled smoke. He’s still not sure what made him do it, but he felt the door before opening it and it was hot, so he decided to leave it closed and run to get the family out. The fire department came and said that he could have been killed when opening the door because there was quite a big backflash from new oxygen entering the room. They had to move out of their house for a few months to remove any traces of the smoke, get new flooring, new paint, etc. They were actually able to take the opportunity of it and remodel their kitchen which they have been wanting to do for quite some time. He now can’t go to bed without taking the battery out of his laptop and they have become super sensitive about unplugging other electrical items.
A tip I have are about ancestral photographs. I have come across many of my grandparents and great grandparents and such and these are most definitely irreplaceable. I have a membership to ancestry.com and you can upload photos to the site and attach to various people, so my thought is to scan any of these photos, attach them to the correct people and then you will have a digital copy online that is a record of your ancestors as well as helping out anyone who may have the same ancestor. You have so many other great tips, I just thought I would add this one as well.
Thanks for all you do!