12.5.18 Slide Show: Fire

On December 5, around 10:30AM, an electrical unit in our kitchen seized and caught fire. By the time we realized it, it had engulfed the kitchen. Volunteers from six townships responded, and put out the blaze. But by then, the entire house interior had been impacted by heat and smoke, several rooms had been completely destroyed, and most of the glass windows and walls had been smashed.

It started here, in the center of the kitchen, where there was a kick plate heater under the center island. The fire smoldered within the island, and by the time we smelled it, it had erupted throughout the kitchen.

It couldn’t get past the adjacent chimney, so it decided to head up the back stairs…

The fire didn’t get far upstairs, but heat and smoke engulfed our son’s bedrooms. And, as the firefighters chased it down, they did a fair job of tearing everything apart.

And in the rest of the house, untouched by fire, the damage was severe and extensive. Everything is pretty well destroyed.