I woke up to the house shaking and the sound of an explosion.
- I thought I was dreaming, and hoped I was dreaming, but I could smell smoke coming through my house.
At first, I thought something had exploded in my house, but I saw the flames flickering outside my window. My neighbor’s house was engulfed in flames. I pulled on my robe and slippers, woke my husband and told him something had happened. The flames were so hot and high, that they were singing our house. I decided to get dressed and so did my husband. By the time we were out of the house, our neighbors were out of theirs, but they weren’t so lucky to get any belongings. I asked if everyone was okay, but all she could do was hug me and nod. Her kids were sitting on our porch with my husband and crying because their puppy was still in the house. The fire warden came over and told my neighbor that he was sure the furnace exploded, and they were lucky no one was injured or killed. My neighbor cried even harder and said that everything they owned was gone. Her husband was calling to see if there was someplace to stay, but I told him to hang up the phone. Our furnace was working fine, and the kids were already sleeping on the sofa. I heard the neighbor’s furnace explode that night and it left me with nightmares. I was glad I could give them solace and a place to stay, but that didn’t get their home back. The fire warden said there was a gas leak in the furnace.