House Fire Part 2

Just to clarify, since Nathan provided the pictures and none of the details!

This happened on Sunday morning and the fire department showed up on scene around 7:30 am. No one was injured, besides some minor smoke inhalation. They believe it was started from an electrical outlet in the downstairs back of the house, which set off the smoke alarms and woke up Jim, our neighbor, who then woke up his grandson who lives with him. They got out alright, as did all of their animals except, possibly, the grandson's kitten that he only had for a couple of days.

One of the neighbors told Nathan that it took the fire department half an hour to get there, which is absolutely ridiculous, speaking as someone who knows. The fire department is only 12 blocks away from our house. As soon as we get a 911 call, both dispatchers pick up the phone line. The person on phones for the day gets the important info: reason for call, location, injuries, etc (depending on type of call). This takes approximately 30 seconds. As soon as that information is taken, the person on radios immediately begins paging out (in this case) the fire department. That process, from the beginning of the page to the point where the station acknowledges the page, only takes another 30 seconds or so. Another 15-30 seconds later, the units go enroute. From there, it takes just a couple of minutes to drive 12 blocks. Half an hour my butt. Gosh I miss my job!

Jim told Nathan that he is completely overwhelmed by how the community has rallied around him and offered their generosity. It makes me feel good to know that we live in a town that takes care of its own, even though Jim has only lived in Baker for just over a year. Please keep Jim and his grandson in your prayers...besides losing their home, which was one of the original homestead houses in Baker, they also lost a lot of their heirlooms which are irreplaceable. Thankfully Jim and his grandson have family to stay with in Baker and plan to start rebuilding soon.