FIRE!!!

We were at mom’s house visiting her one day when we heard a lot of commotion- sirens and loud vehicles- outside.

That is not unusual for the trailer park that we live in; there are ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks here almost weekly. So we have just learned to ignore all of the noise.

But this time there seemed to be more activity than normal, so we opened the front door and looked outside- and saw a trailer ablaze! It was horrible- flames shooting over the tree tops into the air, while the firemen tried desperately to bring the fire under control.

And then one neighbor yelled, “There is a dog in there!”

When the firemen heard that, they broke down the door to get inside, almost without regard for their own safety, but they could not find the dog. They searched everywhere, but when it was obvious that the roof was going to cave in, the men ran out the door- just seconds before the entire trailer collapsed to the ground in one hot, blazing heap!

The dog was discovered at a neighbor’s house a few hours later- ALIVE and well!! He had apparently run out the back door right behind the family, and had then gone and hid.

It took the firemen about an hour to bring the blaze under control, but the police and fire marshal stayed at the scene well into the night- trying to find the cause of the fire. They finally learned that it had been started by blankets being placed next to a space heater, and decided that it was arson. But they did not arrest anyone.

(The woman who lived there with her grown son had already had to move out of 7 other homes that had burned down in recent years!)

When this house also burned to the ground, she, her boyfriend and her son then moved into the trailer park next to ours, and rented a large trailer right behind the one that had burned down.

A few months later, we were walking on the road in that park to visit someone who lives there, and we couldn’t believe what we saw!

When we looked up the hill, there was another trailer on fire! We heard the sirens, horns, and loud vehicles. AGAIN!!!

We stood and watched in horror as the firemen battled the blaze; and we then learned that it was the same family who had lived in the trailer that had burned down in our park months earlier!

After the fire was put out, firefighters discovered that ALL of the family’s Christmas presents had been put outside on the porch before the fire started, thus escaping the flames; but a pet guinea pig had died in his cage inside the fiery inferno.

The fire marshal determined that this fire had also been intentionally set, and since the woman was the only one home at the time of the fire, she was arrested for arson.

She only spent a short time behind bars, then posted bond and moved back into our park- living with a friend of hers right across the street from us!

It was only a few weeks later that our outgoing mail was set on fire! Someone had tried to burn down the building that houses the mailboxes for the trailer park, but only the outgoing mail had burned up, and then the fire had gone out.

PRAISE GOD!!!

The police could not find enough evidence to pin that fire on anyone, even though they knew who started it!

So we started praying that God would move that woman out of the park- and He did!!!!

She moved out recently, so we can all rest easier now- knowing that she will not burn down any more trailers- well, not around here anyway.

We also pray for her salvation; and ask God to get a hold of her and change her heart.

All has been quiet around here for a while now- until today!

Please click here to read about our crazy day.