FIRE!!!!

It was Sunday, June 23rd.  I was just settling down into a nice comfortable Sunday afternoon nap when I heard sirens.  Loud sirens.  I was slightly bugged that they were keeping me awake.  Suddenly, Bronson busted through my bedroom door yelling, "A house is on fire!!" Of course, that made me jump!  I ran outside and saw that, sure enough, a house in our neighborhood was on fire!  Flames were shooting out of the windows and firemen were working to put the fire out.

The home on fire was that of Brother and Sister Kuehl in our ward.  They are a cute couple who moved here from Hawaii a long time ago. They don't live on our street, but their back yard is in the back yard of people on our street (does that make sense?).  They had gone for a Sunday drive when something in their garage caught fire (I'm not sure if I ever heard the final word on how it happened).  A couple of their close neighbors saw the flames and called 911.  Then, they called the Kuehls and told them they'd better get home. Luckily, most of the fire damage was in the garage, up through the roof of the house, and a little bit in the kitchen. Still, the smoke damage was extensive.  They had to move out of their home while it was being repaired (which took over a year!) 

Anyway, our driveway had the perfect view of what was happening at the Kuehl's house.  So, our entire neighborhood congregated there to watch.  We called the Bishop to let him know.  After a while, I decided I'd better represent the RS presidency and see if I could offer any help.  I didn't want to be in the way or seem like a gawker, so it was difficult to get up the courage. But I finally walked around the corner to offer help.

It was a mad house! There were lots of people, trucks, etc. all over the place.  Plus, random people were driving by to see the fire.  Having your home burn is a pretty devastating thing!  Especially when it's the home you raised your family in.  Sister Kuehl was not around - she was in a neighboring home pretty shaken up.  I couldn't talk to her. Brother Kuehl, the tall man in the white shirt, (that is his cousin in the yellow shirt) was impressively calm and gracious to all the people milling around.  I didn't stay long - once I let him know the RS was standing at the ready, I left.  He had a lot on his plate and there were plenty of people there. What a crazy Sunday!