My opinion on the fire!

Several years ago there was a news story about houses being “red flagged” by the fire department, meaning if a fire were to come close to the house, there were to be no extra efforts from the fire departments to save the property. The homeowners were furious and at first, I thought it was ridiculous; isn’t that their job! But the more I looked into it and the more I thought about it, it made perfect sense. These houses that were “red flagged” were houses built on the mountain side, surrounded by trees and overgrown brush, they were difficult to get to and most likely any fire involving these homes would be too dangerous for any firefighter to fight.

I realized that there is a price to be paid when you live in such a beautifully secluded and peaceful place. Having family and friends that fight fires, including in this specific area, I agree, no human life is worth a home or property.

Unfortunately, even after the stories of the “red flagging”, people continued to build their homes in the same area, yes, it cleared trees and brush, but they didn’t take into account the houses were still on rugged terrain and the other side of the mountain was still brush and trees. These houses are amazing, all the newest and greatest upgrades and accessories; houses to be envied.

That is, until two weeks ago when a mixture of a stray bullet from target practice, dry brush, and high winds turned into a nightmare. We watched on the newscast as flames headed towards these beautiful neighborhoods. I worried about friends and family who live in the area, I worried about the horses that live in the area, hoping their owners were able to have enough time to get them safely out, and most importantly, I was worried about the family and friends I have who are firefighters and all their coworkers who were headed right to the center of it all.

Usually when horrific things happen, people band together, but that first night, I knew I would not be “banding” together with some of these homeowners. I watched as they were interviewed by reporters, as they complained about the lack of response from the emergency dispatchers, about the firefighters not doing enough to save property, they complained about being evacuated with not enough time to get their belongings. I literally had to take some deep breathes to calm myself.

On the second day of this massive undertaking, which by the way the “red flagging” had no bearing on, I called my Aunt to check on her, knowing her husband, my Uncle, a firefighter, would most likely be right in the middle of it all, and I was right. He was in the middle of it all, but not in the way I though. He probably wishes he was in his turnouts, sweating in the heat, fighting flames; but he was getting heat from homeowners, understandably upset about the fire. Upset about losing property, losing cars, having smoke damage, not being allowed back in their homes, etc. They were literally in his face over these things! I was furious, knowing that these firefighters are risking their lives and still people were angry. I know that the homeowners yelling at my Uncle were only a small percentage of the residents affected by this tragic event, but to think that even one person felt this way was disheartening.

I hope people take a few minutes to appreciate their local emergency services; police officers, firefighters, EMT’s, etc. They really are angels on earth. Just take a look at the miracle they managed with this house below.

Followup: Last night on the news there are stories of some homeowners fraudulently filing claims for thousands of dollars for bogus “cleanings” and property loses. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!