It was 4:30 AM and my phone began to ring. I reached over to my night stand and fumbled around to grab it. I had planned to just hit the snooze button since I thought the ringing was just my alarm going off.

But right before I went to hit the silent button I noticed my neighbors name flashing on my screen. Why was my neighbor calling me so early, I thought?

I answered in the most confused-quiet-exhausted tone possible…“helllllo???”

As I listened to my neighbor talking I could hear the panic in her voice.

“The bus depot is on fire…there are flames everywhere.”

And before I could even hang up and get outside I started having flashbacks of our neighbors fire that took their house last year. Ever since that day I’ve been terrified of house fires. I saw firsthand how it affected our friends and how devastating it can be to lose everything you have.

 We live right next to the school and the bus barn is literally feet from our front yard.

I ran to the front door…and all I could see was orange flames roaring out from the roof of the building. The entire metal frame was already engulfed.

I like to think of myself as a light sleeper. Anytime I hear any kind of noise…I’m wide awake.

But after a long weekend of birthday party festivities and playing outside in the sun, I must have been sleeping soundly. So soundly that I did not hear what was going on right outside my front door.

Scary.

The fire was LOUD. Popping and crackling like each and every ounce of the building was exploding over and over again.

I took this video from my front door as I watched the building burn. You can hear how loud it was.

All my brain could think of was THE BUSES. Not because I was super worried about the buses being destroyed, but because I know how much fuel those buses hold.

And I knew it would not be a good situation if they caught fire.

The buses were parked right outside of the building. All of them in a row. So close that it seemed almost inevitable that if the firefighters didn’t act soon…the buses would be next.

We were so lucky because the fire department was able to contain it before the buses became involved…and I am so thankful. On so many levels.

Mostly because my three sleeping babies were literally all snuggled up on my living room couch from a long night of playing. I am thankful God protected us from what could have been so much worse.

The boys never once opened their eyes during the fire. They must have been sleeping even harder than I was.

But, around 6:00 AM they slowly began to wake up… and the first thing they did was run to the front door and scream “FIRE TRUCKS!!! MOMMY!!!! FIRE TRUCKS!” 

What ended up being a little boys dream, fire trucks in their front yard, could have turned out so much worse.

The building was reduced to rubble. Nothing left.

But no one was hurt.

I haven’t heard any updates on what they think could have caused it yet.

But the worst thing I’ve had to deal with is my hair smelling like I’ve been to a bonfire. And you know what? I’ll take it!

It’s days like today when I realize how blessed I am to have a God who protects and loves me.

I hope our neighborhood will be fire free for the remainder of our stay here. Two fires in two years is too many for my heart to handle.

Have you ever experienced a fire firsthand?