T w e n t y S i d e d

“Mommy, it looks like the neighbor’s garage is on fire!”

Just a few hours before the fire. The garage is peeking out from behind the bushes and trees.

My girl can be pretty high strung sometimes, so when I hear this I figure it means the neighbors are burning leaves on the far side, and the resulting ribbon of smoke makes it look like the fire is coming from the garage. I glance out the window. She is not exaggerating. There is a fire inside of the building. A serious fire. Flames reach out from the yawning windows.

There is shouting. People are very close to the building, frantically trying to do something. Are they trying to fight it? This is way beyond a garden hose or fire extinguisher sized problem. This blaze is not kidding around. A beautiful large-size pickup is so close to the building that it’s tail lights are probably melting. Screw the garage! Move the truck! The garage isn’t near any other important structures, so no houses are in danger as far as I can see.

It’s Saturday, May 26. Memorial Day weekend. It’s mid-afternoon on a nice sunny day. This morning we were running a yard sale. Now the neighborhood is in sudden chaos. I hear the wail of approaching fire engines. No, it sounds like an ambulance. Actually, it’s both. Eventually, it’s a lot of both.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “A Fire”

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.