Disaster Averted- THANK YOU Angola FD!!

[Mr Douglas]

Yesterday, 2/25/2012, was the luckiest- unlucky day of my life. At about 4:10 AM, the smell of acrid smoke sat me straight up in bed. I threw off the blankets with a "WTF?" and ran into my office where I'm writing from now. The smoke alarm starts beeping. I could hear a crackling noise from the bathroom... Smoke just POURING out...I look in through the smoke, but I don't see any fire. It's either in the wall or under the floor, but it's sure burning good...... "GET OUT!!" My wife and I made for the side porch/utility room. She had grabbed up our old bloated cat and tossed her out the door. We fumbled around in the dark for a minute looking for a phone. Four handsets and two cellphones- you'd think it wouldn't be that difficult.....The place is just going black with smoke....she found a cell and called, while I grabbed us up a couple coats and the car keys...
We got out. In the minute it took to chain up our dog we could hear them coming. We moved the car closest to the house so they could get at things easier, and by then the smoke was starting to really roll out from where the siding met the foundation. The next few minutes seemed like forever, but in reality, it had only been 10 or 12 minutes since the smell had woke us up. I'm so glad they got here quickly. They had my wife move the car again further away while I told them where the fire was and how to get at it..... I walked back and forth from the house to the car. They needed to know where the water and power shutoffs to the house were... As I got back to the car, my wife said she thought she saw them throw something out the front door. I walked back up to the house, and sure enough, they HAD thrown something out- the burnt up sink and vanity....another gentleman was firing up a Stihl chainsaw....."OH BOY!" .....it was under the floor.

Anyway, rather than write a novel, I just want to say, those folks KICKED BUTT!! They saved our house! To read the news this morning and see the awful fire they had just been to near Orland....I just can't thank them enough for their quick response and efforts, particularly in the cold and wind of yesterday morning when they were undoubtedly exhausted already. My beautifully remodeled bathroom might be trashed, but we still have a roof over our heads.
We're VERY GRATEFUL!

[Graygleam]

I am very happy for you, Mr Douglas. It indeed could have been much worse. Glad it wasn't.

[HoosierHelen]

Thankful you, your wife and pets are safe this morning Mr. Douglas! As you say, those firefighters must have been exhausted already before they got to your home. Best wishes!

[No Adventure Is Too Small]

So thankfull that you are all safe, and that there are people willing and ready to do the great job that firemen do!

[Todd Ianuzzi]

Glad your family is safe and well and your house is safe.

[Mr Douglas]

I had just finished that bathroom to near perfection in January. My New Year's Resolution was to go back and finish all my interior projects to full completion. I just had to choose the bathroom first, eh? The culprit was either a heat tape or it's extension cord failing. It's on the windward side of the house, and all the insulation in the world never stopped the wind from eddying up right where the tub/sink pipes are. There's a plumbing graveyard under there too from every other poor bugger who lived here when the pipes froze and burst. On the good side, the hole in the floor is big enough that I can 'box in' the new plumbing to prevent it from happening again (without the use of heat tape).

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