It's crazy what can happen within 24 hours. This morning at 5 am, the exhaust fan in the shower started flaming. We tried to use the extinguisher...couldn't figure out what to do and we just ran out of the house and called 911. As soon as we all were outside, the roof started flaming, smoke was escaping from the attic windows. I thought for sure that everything in our home would be destroyed. Once the firemen came, the fire was out within the hour, and we were able to go back inside 2 hours later. I was expecting the worst but luckily the main floor wasn't affected....the fire had been contained in the attic. And apparently our house is now "famous" ...fox 5 news sent a helicopter and showed our burning house on the am news. How nice eh. For now, we're in a nice hotel (+internet, thank goodness) thanks to our insurance company. But it looks like it'll be 3 months before we can move back home since the attic and ceilings need to be redone. I still can't believe what's happened today. It's one of those things that I thought "oh that could never happen to me." I've taken so many things for granted--my family, my home, and I'm too busy rushing through life. So I'd say today was my wake-up call.
I'm sooooo glad everyone is ok and you made it out safely and there wasn't too much damage! That's so scary - and like you said, it makes you appreciate the good things a little more. Good luck cleaning it all up...
I am so sorry! I have been in that situation before. 2 years ago on Halloween weekend we had a few people over to see our new place, we had only lived there for about a week. We had a small candle (one of those really little travel ones in a tin) in the bathroom in our room. I made hubby use it after he stunk up the bathroom. He left it burning thinking nothing of it. Well, I don't know how it reached, but it caught a towel on fire that was on a rack about 5 or 6 inches above it. By the time our smoke alarm went off in the hall outside our bedroom the whole bathroom was in flames. Luckilly it was the kind of master bathroom where the toilet and shower/bath are in a little room, and the vanity and sink were outside of it. I just panicked when I saw it, I froze and couldn't do anything. My brother in law was there and he ran out to get a fire extinguisher from the hall. He had the fire out by the time the firemen got there. That whole bathroom area had to be replaced and when you spray a fire extinguisher, there is a film, like a dust that covers EVERY inch of where you live, it doesn't matter how far away the room is. The cleaning process was EXTENSIVE and we had to move in with my parents for about 2 months while they fixed everything. But the real bummer, we had only lived there for a week so, you guessed it, no renters insurance yet. We ended up having to pay over $3,000 for repairs. It was not pretty. But, it does make you realize not to take things for granted and that material things are just that.
wow that is crazy. It is defintely a situation that you never expect to happen to you, rather something you just see on the news. I am glad, you made it out safely and that there wasn't too much damage.