We live in a tiny hamlet, down a back road in Ontario. We do not have a fire department. Here, if your house catches fire, you either put it out yourself or you stand back and watch it burn.

Our family couldn’t put the house fire out. By the time we awoke the house was full of smoke. In two minutes, the floorboards were on fire. In six minutes, we couldn’t go in anymore to grab our belongings. I’m just guessing at the duration of minutes. It’s hard to say, when you’re watching your life go up in smoke, how long things really take.

The steps we took after our house fire may be different from yours. I’m not giving advice here, merely stating our own actions and path to recovery. I’m writing this because I could find no concrete or sincere help online. I do hope this helps my readers in some small way. Continue Reading »

We recently suffered a house fire.

It was absolute devastation.

The village we live in does not have a fire department. The entire house burned down - right to the foundation.

Being an online type of girl, after the shock of losing everything, I wondered if there was a good resource for people who had experienced the same - but who weren’t sure what their next steps might be…

I surfed around, and found little. Certainly nothing worth a bookmark or mention. Nothing that had been written with any compassion - and people like you and I (those of us who have been through a house fire) need a lot of compassion.

First of all, please allow me to say this, “I am so sorry for your loss. Really.”

Whatever you lost in the house fire, is a tragic loss. A loss that you will have to find a way to move past in the coming years.

I personally only suffered one casualty in our house fire. Continue Reading »

“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.
Continue Reading »