01/08/2025
Fall/Winter Farm Update. It's long, but describes the events that took place the day of the house fire.
Hello!
I hope you all had a good Christmas season and I hope this post find you all well!
We had a very interesting fall. I've been dreading to make this post which is why it took so long. Its been crazy busy and i feel like I've finally got a chance to sit down and breath.
I'm not going to sugar coat it, but last season was tough. I thought I was at my breaking point, I was already hanging on by a thread, I couldn't handle any more stress, and then we had a house fire and was forced to immediately move out.
This happened the middle of October on a Saturday. Kyle was working in the field. I had attended a church event that morning when I would have normally gone to work. So I went to work just after lunch instead and had taken the kids with me to the farm. I was about half way done at the farm, when I looked at my phone and noticed I had a whole bunch of missed calls from Kyle. (I knew something was wrong because he never calls me unless it's bad news) I quickly left and ended up being the very last person to arrive.
Kyle, and the farm crew he works with, had just gotten back to fuel up when they noticed black smoke billowing from the house. They quickly alerted Kyle who scurried over there as fast as he could. He ran inside to get the dogs, Ellie and Opal (which many of you have met as my welcoming committee at the farm), out of the house. The only way in was through the living room. Kyle said the smoke was so bad he couldn't hardly get 5 steps in before it was unbearable. The dogs, scared in our bedroom on the opposite side of the house, took quite a bit of coaxing to come but Kyle eventually got them out unharmed.
When Kyle got there, the main power line that goes into the house from the pole, that's normally attached to the top of house, was laying on the ground and the wooden stairs/deck was on fire next to it working its way up the house. There was no official investigation done but we can only guess that something with the line went wrong. Either it fell off the house or the coating had rubbed off and arched against our aluminum siding that sent sparks down and lit some brush on fire. We don't know for sure because no one was home.
Meanwhile, while Kyle is in the house, the farm crew happened to have a retired fire tuck already loaded and ready to go (do you remember how dry it was this fall, and all the field fires that had been happening? Good thing huh. Who has neighbors with a fully loaded fire truck lying around?!?!) They scurried over with their truck and made good work of the fire until the fire department got there.
They were able to get the fire contained before it took too much of the house. We didn't loose too much stuff and didn't loose anything I couldn't live without. Smoke damage was pretty extensive and they had to gut about half of the main level because of smoke and water damage in the attic space. Anything that had smoke behind it had to be gutted.
Service Master 380 is doing the restoration and I must say we are very pleased with their work. They had to meticulously clean every singe item in the house with tooth brushes and q-tips. They hand washed every single lego. There was soot on everything! They've cleaned and packed everything away just as if we had moved. All the laundry had to be washed. I did many high capacity loads at the laundry mat but service master had a laundry service come in and do the rest.
So this doesn't happened again, Elsamiller Electric came in a buried the line this time.
We ended up living with Kyle's parents for 5-6 weeks and just got moved into a rental house the beginning of December. I wasn't entirely prepared to do a remodel so there were so many design decisions, I thought my brain was going to explode. Since it's all gutted, we are going to make some updates that will hopefully make my life a lot easier and some infrastructure things like getting rid of the old fuse panel. (Yep, my whole kitchen is still on the the little fuses you have to screw in). Now is the time to do it while it's all exposed.
The basement, where my flower studio is, was pretty much unharmed so I'll be pulling tulips for valentines day soon! Keep an eye out for those. I should be able to start seeds and continue on with the next season as planned. I feel like I've finally been able to slow down a bit and get some much needed rest these last couple weeks.
We are incredibly grateful for everyone who has helped us! Special thanks to...
The farm crew (Jeff Reints, Clay Reints, Bruce Swinton, Bandon Willey, and Aiden Vannordstrand) who came to our rescue that day.
Service Master 380 (who has been wonderful to work with!)
Tim Vannordstrand and Farm Bureau
The Shell Rock Fire Departnent
Butler County Emergency Management
The First Responders (who took Kyle's blood pressure and reported that it was high. It's not normally but I thought it was kinda funny as there was good reason)
Kyle's parents (Aaron and Sandra Johnson) who took us in on short notice for weeks and prepared many good home cooked meals that we enjoyed as kids.
The Cain family (Randy, Candace, and Geralyn) who have graciously allowed us a cozy home to live in for the time being.
My mother, who watched the kids and was always there when we needed her.
Friends that have provided a meal or a donation. THANK YOU!
Moving forward, there is still some need but seriously no pressure. God has done a very good job taking care of us and meeting our needs. He never let's us down! To Him be the glory.
When things seem bad, I like to fall back on these passages.
James 1:2-4. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Romans 8:28
[28] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
I believe the trial we face now will only be for our good and we will come out stronger and better than ever because of it!
Enjoy your January! I'm back to the dreaming stage of farm planning!
