2:36 am

Well...I woke up this morning about 2:36 and knew something wasn't right. I saw a strobing light...and thought it was the fire alarm battery dying. Then I put on my glasses and realize the light was coming from the kitchen window (which shines indirectly on my face when I'm in bed). I look out the front window, expecting to see a tow truck, but instead I see a SUV backed into the driveway across from mine, with head lights on and strobing lights.

I look to the left and seeand this....

Needless to say my heart starts pounding and I go throw on clothes to go out my front door. IT WAS COLD!!! I see four fire trucks, one ambulance, a rescue truck and the fire chiefs car. All of the vehicles have flashing lights and even as I watch one of the trucks is backing down the street. No back up beeping!

The last house on my side of the street had his old Bronco backfire and caught his house on fire! When I went to look this morning his garage is burned all through the inside, his front door was now a sheet of plywood, and his Bronco was sitting at the end of his driveway with melted tires and I'm sure completely totaled.

Things I noticed from all of this:

1. I am really, really, REALLY thankful that we (as a neighborhood) have advocated so hard to have no street parking! Although our two persistent violators both had vehicles on the road two nights ago.

2. Firetrucks don't use their sirens through neighborhoods at 2 in the morning.

3. The sound of 4 firetrucks and sight of strobing lights will wake me up in the middle of the night.

4. My (nice) next door neighbors are very nice in the wee hours of the morning. (I got to chat with several last night/early this morning).

5. I took these pictures to show the neighbors exactly why we do not want street parking.

6. Our street is wide enough to fit two fire trucks side by side.

7. Firemen do not always bust the windows of cars parked in front of a fire hydrant....I found this very interesting, because the fire hydrant is right next to the house that caught fire. And yes someone was parked in front of it.

8. It is really hard to go back to sleep after that kind of adrenaline rush in the middle of the night. But Fresh Prince and the Cosby Show are both on at 3:30 am.

As far as I know, no one was hurt, the damage really didn't look too bad, I didn't even see the people that live in the unit attached to the one that caught fire. I am sure that there is a lot of smoke damage though. I also need to add that this house was a whole lot closer than the last fire, this house was only 5 units away!