A Chimney Fire

Last night was a long night. I had gone to bed around 10, and a short time later someone was knocking on our window downstairs. We were both scrambling to get glasses/warm clothes on and a man and a young woman were there alerting us that there was fire coming out of our chimney. Kevin had put some product in the chimney to help keep it clear, but it caused more fire instead at this instance.

We thanked them, they left, and after putting out the fire in the cellar we called the fire department and my dad as the fire died down. I didn't see any other problems, but they told us to get the kids out because it looked like there was smoke coming from the attic. I took the kids up to my dad's house and when I came back there were a few fire trucks, a police car, and an ambulance. They were being cautious, but I stayed parked outside of the house and was in a slight daze with what could have happened. They found there was a crack a few rows from the top of the chimney that made it look like there was more of a problem than there was, but it was better to be safe than sorry, and we learned a lot about our home, how things work a little better out here. They gave us the ok and we went back in, but won't use the wood stove again until things get fixed.

It got me thinking what if we lost everything. What if this was one of those worst case scenarios. I am thankful someone was there to wake us up, the kids had a place to go, and the local authorities got there in a good amount of time. But it is a good reminder again how fragile things are, and it is by God's grace that we get through life. And we are also smarter because of it.