There are fires, and then there are FIRES! Some were pleasant such as the fire in our fireplace or the campfires where we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Others were painful to learn about, such as people injured by a fire while trying to save someone. When I was still a child, my parents took me to the mortuary, where there were three closed caskets of people we knew killed when their home caught fire.

Yesterday I had some errands to run, and when I walked out the back door, I discovered that the sky was filled with black billowing smoke. A neighbor and her two children walked over to see what was happening. I had some errands to run, so I got in the car and headed out, but I didn’t get very far. There were fire engines and I could see firefighters on the roof of a building working to put out the fire.

Fire doesn’t stay put. This fire spread to adjacent businesses. The last I heard, no one died in this fire, but people lost their businesses, apartments, jobs, and possessions. Give thanks for your life and offer help if you are able.