About Our House Fire

“It wasn’t our log home that burned…but the log home that rose from the ashes of the devastating house fire…”

My name is Laura Childs and I am writing this for three important reasons…

1. I’m a public figure online with a large list of caring followers who have been wondering why I haven’t been publishing content, creating ebooks, or launching any new sites in the last few months.

2. Friends and family are scattered all over the world and this is the easiest, most affordable way to stay in touch and explain what happened to our house and our lives, to all of those special people.

What follows is the open letter, previously posted on Facebook, to friends, family and associates. What happened after the house fire will be added to this site in later entries.

————————-

Our House Fire – Everything Lost But Our Lives

I don’t want you to worry, because first and foremost, we’re all alive and well.
Our house, however, is a hole in the ground now. There is little left but ashes and steel and tin and melted globs of appliances.

I had just finished writing my latest book on social marketing. I had been up late 7 or 8 nights in a row. Writing and rewriting. Testing and tracking and documenting.

It was Valentine’s night – my 5th wedding anniversary. I had a huge pot of homemade spaghetti sauce on the stove cooking all day (cuz it’s our favorite). Eric had been in the bush with Nathan all day so he got home late and we ate. He went to bed early and Veronica and I surfed on the dining room table for a few hours. Veronica went to bed around 10pm. The rest seems like a blur.

When she went to bed I think I did some dishes, brushed my teeth and went to bed too. I don’t even know what time it was, or if I had changed my clothes or anything. It was just a normal day in an average week. I can’t even remember if Eric was under the covers or if, when he’d gone to bed, he had just actually laid down and planned to get up in a few hours. We have both been so tired.

I guess around 2:30am Eric woke up ‘cuz he’d smelled smoke. He opened the basement door (I guess planning on going down to check the wood fire or see why the house smelled like smoke) and more smoke came when he opened the door. He said he saw a orange glow or something down in the basement, but he hadn’t turned the light on.

He shut the door. Ran back to the bedroom. Put on his jeans and woke me up. I ran to wake up Veronica. Yelling and sceaming. Grabbing everything we could. Once Veronica was outside, Eric and I just started running in and out of the house, grabbing stuff. Anything. Important things. Stupid things.

I think it was only about 6 minutes later we just couldn’t go in any more. Even crawling. And the smoke was coming up through the cracks on the hardwood floor. Blue had run back into the house. Eric went in to find him. We couldn’t find the cat.

Eric went up to the pay phone at Boulter Store and called 911.

911 called the Boulter Fire Department. Which equates to 1 man in a pick up truck with a glass of water.

There is no fire department. There was no hope anyway. Eric and Veronica and I just stood outside of the house shivering, wondering what to do, where to go, kind of in shock.

A neighbour came down the driveway and took us to his house for coffee. For 2 hours we just kinda sat at his house, still in shock I guess. Kinda talking, not really. Just staring.

Around 5:00 am we drove back to the house and there was nothing left at that point. Flames, noise, sadness. Confusion.

Eric and I were both coughing. Eric was puking. He’d swallowed a lot of smoke.

We went to Jen and Curtis’. In the morning we went to the hospital. We were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning. I have a wheeze so now I have a puffer for the next 14 days. I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine by the end of the treatment.

Today is Monday, just three days later. The fire is still burning. In a few more days the insurance and fire investigator will be out to look again at the hole in the ground. After that we’ll look for a place to rent that is nearby since we still have horses to feed and water twice a day. And then, maybe rebuild. Everything is kinda up in the air about what’s next. Until we know, we’ll stay with Jen and Curtis.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say. That’s all I really know. Other than the community has been wonderful. Giving us clothes and bathroom products and food.

We are fine. Veronica is fine. We are safe now and loved and trying to put the pieces together – of work, of life, of home. All our stuff is gone – clothes, appliances, furniture, photos, paperwork, Eric’s snowboard and skis, ugh, just everything, but us.

If Eric hadn’t been home that night though, Veronica and I might not be here today. We are both such heavy sleepers. Scary thought hunh?

Anyway, I have lots to get to. I miss you. I’ll see you soon. Or be with you once again, in due time.