House on Fire (yes, ours!)

This morning I was flipping pancakes when Geoff said, "Our gardener just took off running (toward the back of the house)."  Geoff went to look where he was going when he started yelling to us (in Spanish).  We thought someone had just stolen something (which is quite common around here) and Geoff was fumbling with the keys trying to open our back glass doors.  Then we realized he was yelling that there was a fire upstairs (which is a separate apartment that we do not use but is part of the house rental).  He and Geoff ran upstairs with the keys to unlock the door in hopes of putting the fire out.  Geoff couldn't open the door because of the pressure - he kicked it open and black smoke billowed out. 

The gardener next door saw the smoke and ran over.  He quickly put some hoses together and ran up the spiral staircase (no fire extinguisher).  The neighbor gardener crawled in on his hands and knees, with the hose, and put the fire out over the next several minutes.

Meanwhile the girls were standing out on the beach watching the flame crack the windows, and yelling for Geoff and me to grab their favorite things.  Geoff and I were grabbing our electronics, passports, and other valuables (thankfully we don't have many), and we moved our rental car and opened the front gate for the firemen who had been called.  It was a flurry of activity!

After the neighbor gardener put the fire out he opened the windows to let the smoke out.  The fire was started by the TV upstairs, which is now a heap of ashes and melted plastic.  The whole interior of the upstairs is black and destroyed by the smoke.

 

 

What is left of the TV

The closest fire station is an hour away!  By the time they got here we were finishing our breakfast and moving on with our day. 

We were completely not affected, other than 10 minutes of grabbing things in case the fire spread.  Our space has no smell of smoke.  All of us and our things are safe.  Our calming time here goes on.

We pray every day for our protection.  When we arrived Geoff was going to put all of our luggage up there but had an impression not to.  He then felt he should pray for the house, which he did, asking for the walls, roof and windows to be protected.  About then we talked, in passing, about where we would meet if the house caught on fire.  Geoff has wanted to use the space as an office but for one reason or another hasn't.  Last night the girls and Geoff were going to sleep upstairs but Geoff had a very small impression not to.  These were subtle impressions. 

It could have happened at night with great devastation.  It could have been when no one was here (like yesterday) and the entire house would have gone down.  It could have been when Geoff and I were at yoga and the girls were in the house by themselves not understanding the Spanish being yelled, or who to call.

It was a good practice run for emergencies.  Geoff's sister Emily and and her husband Mike have a list on the back of their laundry room door that says what to grab if you have 5 minutes, what to grab if you have 10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.  This would have been helpful in this situation.  Also a good discussion for Tennie about what to do in an emergency when she is babysitting.

Thank you for your concern.  We are all well.  Adele, Ceci and Geoff are lathering up to go jump in the ocean.  Tennie is doing her yoga therapy.  

As they say in Costa Rica...Pura Vida (or Life is Good).