It was a cold Sunday morning when I was awoke by an ear
piercing scream from my best friend, Ashten, screaming my name, and my oldest
son yelling as loud as he could on my front porch by my window. With fear
rushing throughout my whole body, I jumped out of bed to the words I never thought
I would hear from anyone.
“The house is on fire.” These words still pierce through my
ears as I run out of my room, down my short hallway into my living room.
The smoke smell was instant as soon
as you hit the stair case. Looking up the stairs you could see the grayish
black smoke as it came rolling across the door opening and across the celling
of the hall way at the top of my stairs. It was slowing starting to roll down
the stair case which was one of the scary sights for so far. Freaking out and
scared, I made sure my kids where safe outside then I went back to my room to
grab my phone and shoes. I join my kids and Ashten outside to wait on my
husband to come. He tried so hard to get up the stairs to put the fire out but the
smoke was too much for him to handle, so I called 911, still scared and
shaking.
“911
dispatch how may, I help you?” the 911 dispatch asked.
“The top
story of my house is on fire” I told the man.
“What is the
address of your location,” 911 dispatched asked.
“1002 Hot
Shot Dr., Clarksville, 37042,” I said still freaking out and shaking as I start
to see smoke coming out of the sides of my house.
“Okay, ma’am
they are on the way, please clear everyone away from the house,” was the last
thing the dispatched said to me before he hung up.
After I hung
up with 911, I called my husband’s friend, Kyle, so that he come and be of some
help.
“Hey, what’s
up?” Kyle asked as he always did when I called.
“I need you
at the house now, my house is on fire,” I told him.
“Wait what
happen? I will be right there,” he said as he hung up the phone.
As I hung up the phone I turned to
see Ashten and my kids were next door standing in the yard while my husband and
I were still standing in front of the house watching in fear. The next thing I
did was move my car away from the house to next door. About the time I got it
parked the police where pulling up. The sound of the sirens coming down the
road brought people out from around us to see what was going on. To keep my kids
from seeing all the commotion, I put them in the car with the heat on to keep
them warm, all though it really didn’t help any because they kept turning
around to look out the back and side windows. Just then I heard the worst sound
ever, as I seen the fire trucks coming down my street to try and rescue my
house.
The fire men
started to pull up one by one, some in the fire trucks, and others were in
their own trucks and cars. I watched as they tried to hurry and get dressed
which was quite funny because the fire men were rushing so much that one or two
of them fell. One guy finally got his gear on and tried to run in the house
full force and was almost knocked out when he hit my front door from all the
smoke. The police told him to go back and get oxygen tanks and mask or the fire
men would be no use. By that time the smoke was rolling out the side of the top
floor as well as my front door. Finally all the fire men were ready with all
their gear, so three men and with hose proceeded into my front door and up my
stairs.
As the fire
men worked hard to do what they could do, the heat seemed to be too much for
some because there where passing out in my front yard. I watched from the side
lines as they did the best they could do. I watched as my husband called people
in our family, one right after another telling them what had happen.
“I don’t know how I am going to be
able to call my mom,” my husband said in a shaky voice.
“I don’t either but I am right here
if you need me to talk to her,” I told him as he picked up the phone to dial
her number.
“This is the worst phone call I have
ever had to make to her,” he said with fear in his eyes.
You could tell that he was worried as
he made the phone call to his mom and told her the horrible news of what was
happening to our house. As he made the call I turned to check on my kids to
make sure they were okay. I then got in the car myself because I was cold from
standing outside this long with a jacket. Just as I went to sit down, the lady
that lived two doors up came and asked if it was okay for the kids to go to her
house so they didn’t have to see any of this. The boys were over joyed to go,
and just as she turned to head back to her house, she handed me her jacket and
told me to bring the jacket back when I was done. At that moment I knew that
there were still people that truly cared. I kissed my kids bye and told them
everything would be okay.
I stood by
in my neighbor’s yard as the fire men rushed in and out of my house in groups
of three trying to get the fire under control. It seemed like all their efforts
where not working. I watched as one truck would leave and comeback to fill up a
pool with water, the roar of the trucks was loud and seemed to take away from
my thoughts when I watched the water as it came rushing out. As I watched the fire men and the water, I
noticed my husband talking to the foremen because he pointing over at me whiles
talking to him about something, but I could not read his lips. At about that
time a lady walked up to me asking me questions to fast, but she was just
trying to get a statement about what had happen.
“Mrs. Horne, can you tell me how this
happen?” the lady asked me.
“Yes, it started in my kid’s room
because my 5-year-old found a light and tried to burn off the tag on his
mattress,” I told the lady as calmly as I could at that point.
“How many people where in the house
as well as pets?” she asked next.
“There are five of us that live in
the house my husband, my two boys, my friend, and me. We have three dogs, two
of which are outside and one inside that is safe in my car right now,” I
answered.
“Thank you Mrs. Horne, I think that
is all need for now. If I have any more questions for you I will come find you.
By the way I am very sorry the lost your family is undergoing right now, I know
this must be hard,” she said as she turned and walked back to the foreman to
tell him everything I had said.
Family and friends had gathered by
our sides to do whatever they could do to help. Among the ones that showed up
was Kyle, just as he had promised on the phone. Some of the others that showed
up were my brother-in-law and his wife, Ashten’s parents and little sister, and
my husband main boss came ready to work. Once he seen there was not much he was
going to be able to do, he handed my husband some money and left. It was almost
like he had disappeared he left so quickly.
I talked to so
many different people about what had happen that morning because everyone was
walking up that lived around my house just to see what was going on. After
about two hours it may have been more the foremen finally said it was under
control, but just as he said those words standing on the far left side of my
house, the fire came busting through the right side of my house where I was
standing.
“You got
what under control,” I yelled at the foremen.
“The fire is
under control now,” he yelled back.
“Well, if it
is under control why I am looking at the fire on this side busting through to
the outside,” I yelled back.
The foremen
came running over and got his radio saying stuff so fast that I could not make
out anything that he was saying. At this point I knew in my heart my house was
gone and there was going to be little of nothing left in the upstairs. All my
kid’s stuff was gone; they had no clothes and no shoes, nothing at all because
it was all gone. All that had happen set in at that very moment.
After the
fire was finally put out and the firemen started to bring a few things out of
the house, I couldn’t help but to break down in tears at the sight my kid’s
pictures that hung on the wall going up the stairs, lying in the fire men’s
hand as he handed them to my brother-in-law. One by one the fire men brought
out things we might be able to save. Pictures, the TV from the living room, movies,
other little odds and end things, and lastly they brought out my grandmother’s
china and crystal that had been in the family for over 100 years. As they
brought it I hit the ground crying, it was the one thing I had forgotten was in
the house, and there it sat in my front yard.
The fire men
did their job and packed everything up to leave, after 3 and half hours the
fire was finally out and everyone was clearing the area. My husband and I asked
if it was okay if we went in to see the damage and we got the okay. As I
stepped on the porch my stomached knotted up and I felt sick. My husband turned
and told me not to come in the house because the smell was too much for me to
handle. I backed up and went to Ashten and started to cry. My life and
everything that my husband and I had worked so hard for was gone. It was truly
gone and it left me feeling numb. I didn’t know what to say or how to feel. From
all the help and all the donations we have made the best out of the worsted and
are trying to move on and start new. I can truly say that January 19, 2014,
will be day I will never forget because it was the day my nightmare came true
and the day my life went up in smoke.
