Early morning explosion

In the predawn hours before the sun had risen, I stood in the circle of my neighborhood surrounded by others as we watched a house across the common area from mine burn. It wasn't like in the movies, with just timber and ash left on the ground. Flames came out of the garage, and smoke billowed out of the roof. Firefighters had the fire out in an hour, and though the house hadn't burned to the ground, the charred innards visible from the street make it seem like a shell of itself. In under an hour, everything was destroyed.

The homeowner got out safely, with a pet, but escaped with not one belonging before the explosion that woke up others.

It jolted me awake at 4:40 a.m., and I assumed it was an earthquake, what with living near faults. I mumbled in my sleep to the two cats on my bed that everything was fine, and turned over to go back to sleep. But soon we heard sirens and a woman wailing. My mother, sister and I pulled on sweaters or robes and joined the neighbors outside in the chilly air as we all watched and thought, "that could have been us."

It was mesmerizing, and hard to turn away from the fire until it was completely out, even though we were all helpless to do anything. We kept our distance as firefighters did their job.

It reminded me of the year at Pitzer College when the fire alarms kept going off. It happened often enough that my friends and I all started keeping flip-flops at the edge of our beds and a sweatshirt that would be accesible on the way out the door. The alarms always went off during sleeping hours. The late-night or early-morning fire alarms were a nuisance, especially during finals week. I stood gathered with the other college students, shivering most nights, always half asleep, and mostly irritated. It was at least amusing as we picked up on who wasn't coming out of their own dorm rooms.

But this morning was sobering. It was impossible to go back to sleep so we showered, walked the dog and headed to the office early. Since it was one of my busiest days, I just focused on work. It didn't really hit me until my drive home. Everything in my house could be destroyed in under an hour. It made me think about what I would want to save. There are a few things, but I guess if my family and pets made it out safe, I would be content.