The great fire that wasn't

It began innocently enough; the guy who cut the grass next door heaping the cuttings into a pile and burning it to get rid of it. The smell of smoke filled our house, but I had to leave for Bible Club. The guy was there when I left, keeping an eye on the fire. I guess due to the rain we have been getting recently, he figured it was safe.

Ten minutes later, Garryn arrived at Bible Club with the children he picked up, and asked me if I had seen the fire. I asked him if he was referring to the bonfire in front of my neighbor's house and he realised I had no clue, so he urged me to go outside. When I looked up the street, all I was see was massive flames and smoke.

The beginning

The fire quickly spread from the front of the house next door to the savannah grass in the back, which was as tall as the house itself. My neighbour called to say that the fire was in our yard as well, so Garryn and Mummy raced up the road to deal with it while I called the fire department. It took a while to convince them that I knew which was the closest fire station to where I lived, so by the time they transferred me to the Mon Repos Fire Station, someone else on the street had already called and was giving them directions to our house.

Craft and acrostic by one of the children

While all the action was going on up the hill, we were still able to have Bible Club. It was difficult to resist the temptation to go back outside to see if the fire was spreading to the house, but I just kept praying and repeating to myself that God is in control. The lesson focused on "whatever is right" from Philippians 4:8 and we discussed why some children do things that are not right and what the consequences would be for their actions, then we prayed that they would make the right choices, even if it would make them less popular or taken advantage of. After this they made craft for Mothers' Day, interrupted only by the arrival of the fire engine.

It's not everyday that you get to see one of these up close

The firefighters arrived within about 20 minutes of the call, and were able to extinguish the blaze that had spread to the roof of the house next door. Before they got there, my neighbor Mark ran across with his hose and together, he and Garryn battled the smoke and flame in our yard, working hard to prevent the flames from getting close to the house. The smoke was so thick at times they couldn't even see each other even though they were just meters apart. My other neighbour Rachel was able to guide them to standpipes which were located in the middle of the yard so they could connect hoses which could reach closer to the back of the property where the fire was raging.

Mark's son also did his best with the hose

By the time Bible Club was over, the firefighters had the blaze under control. The fire engine had to go for a refill after all the water they had was used up, but the worst was over. 

Charred remains of one of our citrus trees

The smell of smoke lingered all evening and into the next morning, many of our trees were destroyed, but no lives or property was lost. Thanks to the grace of God, the wind blew the fire across the back of our land, instead of up towards our house. Thanks to the hard work of our friends and neighbors, and the quick response of the fire department, the damage was minimal. 

Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.

Lamentations 3:22