MY LIFE - JUNE

Sunday, June 2, 2002

Before anything else is said, I am aware that it's been over a week since I've written an entry. Well, this time there's a very good reason for this. It has nothing to do with me not wanting to write or not having anything to write, but rather, circumstances have prevented me from getting online.

Last Saturday, May 25th, our house caught on fire. The fire began up in the attic around 10pm when we presume that the ferret up there chewed through the wire of the coffee maker, setting off the necessary spark to set a fire in a room that's almost all wood. In ten minutes, the entire attic was consumed by flames and if not for the hardwood door, the rest of the house would've gone up as well. Thankfully, the attic was all hardwood.

In a moment, I'll piece together a timeline that shows about when major events took place and I'll also throw in my two cents worth in each area.

However, let's take note of the losses. Two kittens and two grown cats (including Morgue, a cat that was technically mine for two years) perished along with the ferret. The attic was where my sister and her boyfriend lived, so they obviously lost most everything that was in there aside from a select few items that were spared.

The rest of the house sustained heavy water damage all the way down to the basement, where I found my computer, tv, and vcr completely soaked in dirty water that pretty much spelled the end for all those pieces of equipment. All game systems escaped unharmed, but the computer and about half my clothes are the kicker in this situation.

I don't really remember specific details about the night anymore. I was in such a daze when it happened that the times that I'll be listing are probably off by as much as a half hour, but there's not much that can be done in this situation. I can only try and give you the best account of what happened that night, the night that's really changed everyone's life.

Timeline for May 25, 2002

9:45pm
I've been home for a couple hours (I worked until 5pm) so I'm starting to get hungry. I decide to go and get something to eat from Wendy's. It's about 9:50 when I place my order and moments later I'm on my way home. I'm feeling pretty good and I think that I'll talk to some people and send some e-mails to other people.

10pm
I get to my street and find it odd that a police car is in the way. When I come around the corner, it's not so odd. I see a whole lot of smoke and a whole lot of people looking towards the side of the street where we live. There are three fire trucks in the street and I immediately get the worst feeling in my stomach. I know what's happening before I even have to look. I park my car, jump out, and look up to see smoke and flames shooting out of the roof of our house. My stomach, which had already gone into a spinning frenzy, completely drops. I almost fall over from shock. All I can do is stare up. I don't remember anyone being home, but it's just a guess at this point. I do know that the cats and ferret in the attic do not stand a chance. I'm so numb though, I don't react.

10:15pm
Neighbors inquire about who lives in the house. I answer that I live there and I'm told that Shade is in their backyard while the man's wife is holding Anubis. I think at some point they say their names, but all I can think about is the fire. I take Anubis from the woman and just continue to look up, occasionally answering questions. More people ask me more questions, but I don't remember what was asked nor do I remember if I even answered.

10:25pm
The fire appears to be mostly out, although a lot of smoke continues to rise from the roof of the house. The firemen are upstairs though as I can see them spraying water through the kicked out windows. Four windows in all are now destroyed, but I just watch them spray the water out, trying to clear the smoke and remaining flames out. One of the firemen approaches me and asks me the same questions I've already answered a couple times. My mom is contacted and I'm told she's on her way. It wouldn't be until 11:30pm when she'd get home though.

10:35pm
The neighbors to our north arrive home and ask me the same fucking questions over again. By now I'm getting irritated. I don't like repeating myself on a good day and this is no good day by any stretch. I instead block them out and just continue to look up. I notice some younger girls looking at me, but I don't think anything of it. It was really hard to focus on anything else.

11pm
EMS workers are now questioning me on what happened. Again, it's a repetitive situation and I now have the answers down to an art. The fireman comes up to me and says that they found two animals upstairs. At this point, I didn't know how many animals were up their total, but I knew there were more. He asks for a plastic bag, which I thought was so delicately put.

11:20pm
The fire investigators arrive and begin asking me questions, as do people who are from a disaster relief company. I now have four different people asking me questions and I can't answer most of them. The assumption is I own the house and I quickly dispel that. Meanwhile, I'm asked for the billionth time if I know how it started. I hold back the urge to say something smart. I'm also asked for what seems like the 15th time if my mom is on her way. Amazingly the answer is the same as the first 14 times.

11:35pm

My mom arrives finally and nearly falls over from shock. She's asked if anyone was upstairs. She shoots me a look and asks me if Teresa was up there. I had assumed no the whole time that she wasn't. A frantic phone call reveals that Teresa was with her boyfriend Dan the whole time. Relief floods through both of us, although the knowledge of their cats' fate still lingers. I take her phone and quickly call Shelby, leaving a message on her voicemail.

11:45pm
Arson is dismissed as a possible cause, but the investigators still have to determine just what caused the whole disaster. Some people think it may have been lightning, but it's hard to tell.

12am
Investigators finally go upstairs to start digging around. They will be up there for quite some time, although the exact amount is lost on me. I was in such a daze at this point.

12:20am
Teresa and Dan arrive followed closely by Lori. Teresa and Dan can't handle what's happened and both break down. Lori just stands outside, looking in. My mom asks me to get her cell phone from her car. Shelby's left me a message and tells me to call her as soon as I get it. If she doesn't answer, she'll try and call back that night, otherwise I'm to call her first thing the next day. It helps to hear her voice and know that she's got my back. I call back and leave her a message with an update.

12:40am
One of the investigators comes down and asks me a series of questions. I'm unsure of my answers though, but I think it was clear that I wasn't completely with it. My mom, Teresa, and Dan are also questioned. Then the investigator heads back into the house.

1am
The investigation's over. The fire appears to have started with the coffee maker that was on the stove. They say it appears that the wire may have been chewed on, which leads us to the theory that the ferret ate through the wire. They finish up and leave and it's now just a matter of time before it's clear for us to head on in.

1:30am
We get the okay to head in and we finally see just how bad things are. The ceiling's either collapsed or collapsing in several areas from the water and water's dripping down all over the room. Amazingly, the PS2 and my mom's computer are untouched by the swatch of water damage running through the living room. The smell of smoke is thick and I head down towards the basement with a flashlight (gas, electric, and water are shut off) to try and find out what happened in my room and to find the cats. I find that water's run down all over my computer, my tv, the vcr, and most of the clothes that I had off to the side, although my best clothes are spared. I immediately know that my computer and other electronics are destroyed. I decide to find my cat and call out Kisa's name. Almost immediately she's meowing and the relief floods through my body. We then find Big Guy hiding all the way in the back corner of the basement. Cricket's in a cabinet, Spooks is under my bed, Boone's nervously walking about the living room, and Simba's under the dining room table. We eventually hear Nermal meowing, but can't locate him. Lazarus is nowhere to be seen.

1:45am
Shelby's on the line and we talk for a little while. She tells me she's leaving for Texas in the morning, otherwise she would ask me to stay at her place for the night. It's good to hear her voice though and know that she was worried about me. Finally, someone returns a favor I did.

2am
Work has begun on cleaning up the house a little bit. Workers are preparing wood to be used to board up the windows in the front of the house. We begin to gather things that we'll need for the night as we'll be staying at a motel somewhere. Arrangements are also being made for us to stay at a place more suited for the short-term haul that we're going to be on. Meanwhile, inside the workers are knocking out sections of the ceiling as it's ready to collapse in several areas. Upon looking in the bathroom, my mom and I are amazed at the fact that the room is completely untouched. It doesn't even look like anything's happened. Yet step outside and you have three drenched rooms with very little left in the way of a ceiling.

2:45am
The final stages are taking place with the workers and we discuss what are options are. It's eventually determined that we'll be staying at the Econolodge in Fairview Park (yeah, it's a dump), but we'll be heading to the Residence Inn in Westlake come the next day. We grab the things that we'll need for the night and decide to head back to the house the next day to see what else we can find. By now, we're all drained and ready to head to the motel for the night.

3:15am
The workers are done and are leaving. We then follow their lead and get on our way to the motel. Lori and her boyfriend pack up my mom's computer and head on out as well. Teresa and Dan go their own way with the idea of meeting us at the motel.

3:40
We arrive at the motel and get ourselves settled in. After a few moments of talking, I realize that I will not be able to sleep at anytime soon so I leave and go for a drive to clear my mind. At this point I have not slept in two days, but there's just too much going on. I get back around 5am and fall asleep.

End of Time Line

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