My wife and i had just got home from a birthday party with some coworkers, oh about 8pm. Fired up the computer to watch some GoPro vids And my buddy calls. He asks what my moms house address is here in town (he's a firefighter btw)... apparently a house, with a number that might be my moms address is burning down, and "might take the whole block with it." well after a quick scramble in the droid, i give him the number. My moms house isnt burning down, but her neighbor just to the north, is the house that may take out the whole block.....

These neighbors, have always been kind of a pain. From tons of live in relatives, to their chosen winter heat... old pallets. They'd burn these pallets and cover the side of my moms house with soot and burnt chemicals.... ugh. Well it looks like they maintained their fireplace as well as their property... around 830 last night their house caught fire, as did their property FULL (like 8'tall FULL) of firewood, and old pallets.

There was some damage to my moms house. The north side looks melted and charred. all the windows on the north are blown out. When the fire dept got there it was basically smoldering, so they had to soak the house through to keep it from catching fire... so there is a ton of water damage.

And to top off the bad news, of the two living in the house that caught fire, only the wife made it out. We had our issues, but it too bad the husband passed away.


The silver lining: My mom doesnt live there, and its insured! My mom took a job 5 hours away and had to move a year or so ago. So she wasnt in the house, and didnt really have any possessions in there. Its still a crappy deal, but she was having problems selling it.... partially due to the property to the north. So if its too damaged to repair... the place will be paid off per the insurance agreement... my mom may make out better getting paid insured value, than if she had to short sell it....

Crazy crazy night... so... wear helmets, and have your fireplace cleaned once a year!!! (and have house insurance)

Good winds!
-Drew


http://kneb.com/index.php?more=ximr5k8x
Local news with the story... the house in the pics is the one that caught fire... my moms is just to the right/south of it
... & one of the firemen is my buddy lol!

Great to hear she was not in the house!

sorry for the fry so close to your mom.

pallet power! we have burned (controlled with permit) pallets 30 ft high 4-5 times the size of a house! FURIOUS, QUICK AND HOOJ!!!!!

glad for injury free D

I wish my mom could be so lucky ( except she has nice neighbors) roof leaks , septic system backed up in the basement , more owed on it (to me!) than its worth , one brother and sister still live there (each has "issues") and mom is now living with one of my other brothers due to complications of old age. Good luck sorting it all out.

one of the many reasons i love kites... its so simple. the kite just flies, you just ride the wind, all is as it should be when im hooked in. Life is hard. People are dealt s***ty cards sometimes, be it disasters, health, or financial trauma... the world still spins, trees still grow, and the wind still blows...

Best of luck to your family snow... i hope it's resolve is soon, and painless...

Thanks for chiming in, ill post some pics at lunch when i go