March 18, 2006

•    A house in my neighborhood burnt down last night.  I'd been painting & when I finished  & turned out the light I saw orange out the window & realized it was a roof on fire. It was almost 10 pm. The mud hole where the woods used to be is on one side of a ravine & on the other side, new McMansions are being built right on the edge of the slope going down to a little creek. Most of the houses are in various stages of construction, but a couple are inhabited, this was one of them. I would often see lights on when I was going to bed at 4 am. They were obviously at the other end of a separate day from me.

  
  

  The flames were higher than the trees & seemed to be located in the center of the upper part of the house. Despite several firetrucks, the flames couldn't be brought under control until a special truck was arrived with a huge crane spouting water from above. The crane had 2 lights on, looking like a giant praying mantis head, something out of a Godzilla movie. The flames kept spreading across the roof & down the house, it was especially eerie when fire could be seen through the windows. Convoys of cars pulled into the parking lot of my building to sightsee. A few of them parked & discharged excited passengers, some of whom lit up cigarettes. What exactly is it about watching a house on fire that makes someone want to start one in their own fingers?

  
  

     After about 2 hours, the fire was nearly out, though billows of smoke continued to pour out the top. A spot in the upper floor kept returning to flame, but was finally extinguished. The smoke gradually dwindled and by 2 am had allowed most of the trucks & emergency personell to leave. By 3 am it was dark & quiet  over there.

  
  

      In daylight, the ruins of the house blend in with the muddy gound & bare trees. The unfinished house next to it soggy, but unharmed. I wonder what started the fire & hope no one was hurt. I hadn't seen any lights on earlier, so I don't think anyone was home. Unlike some of my neighbors & the sightseers, I didn't find it an exciting event, rather a sad & disturbing one. To lose a house, a home, so many posibilities & dreams; all gone.

  • 6:05 pm
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