December 28 - Maine

I do not wish, nor intend, to keep reliving what happened one very short month ago. I will not, however, be able to forget that night and the ensuing madness. That is probably a good thing as far as safety goes. We take so much for granted, and I see people being careless with every day tasks, items, and well, just the way they live. Some people have thought of me as a bit, well, OCD I suppose when it comes to things like that.

Like having the cat carriers in the room (just in case); installing fire extinguishers in several rooms (just in case); etc. etc. Will I change my ways? No - what happened was an affirmation of my "quirks".

And YES. I know, I know, I know - and have been chastised over and over again about going back inside. In my PJs and robe. In the thick black smoke. It was not to grab a pair of pants and socks. It was not to grab photos. It was not to grab my portable safe. I went back to try to grab my kitties. Then my neighbors started screaming at me (all of them).

Would I do it again? Was it worth all these weeks of not being able to breathe properly and coughing? I have asked myself that question. Fire happens so very quickly; more quickly that you can possibly imagine (it is not like the movies, trust me). In that 1 or 2 minutes you have... while your head is processing what is happening... what would you do? That is all you get. One or 2 minutes.

Yeah. I would.

Maine. It is quiet and peaceful up here. The air is cold but it is clean and my lungs are finally clearing up (as much as they can) from the fire and ensuing madness. I noticed yesterday that I am able to breathe better than I have in weeks. This is a good thing. A very good thing :)

New Year's is fast approaching; my sister and her other half will arrive tomorrow for a weekend of festivities. I am looking forward to it! There will be food, company, and laughter.

Thanks to the unexpected generosity of a good friend, I will do some shopping next week and pick up a few sweaters, heavy socks, etc. that I was unable to salvage. New pair of nice warm gloves, too! It has been pretty darn cold up here... wind off the ocean and temps run about 8-10 degrees colder.

I have said before, I do believe everything happens for a reason. I really, truly believe that. I have had some breathing room, literally and figuratively. It has helped so much. Brain has re-engaged. A new chapter has begun for me. I am not quite ready to make plans yet for the future, but I know that will come in time (and it will not be long before my brain starts making those lists and plans!).

This is a new chapter for me. Unexpected, certainly. But here for a reason. In a way, I feel as I did when I began my trip to Canada - the unknown. So I will approach it that way. I did bring my oils and easel and brushes :) It will certainly not be 3 months of "stranded in Maine, woe is me". I will not let it :)

It will be an adventure!!

I will post again next week after the food and festivities. For now, I will leave you with the official AP newspaper article and photo of the fire. Just to get it out of my system. Those lights and ladders you see up on the second floor? That is / was my apartment. And we all know who caused the fire. It was not any one of us on the second or third floors.

Careless smoking likely ignited Ayer fire

By Chris Lisinski, clisinski@lowellsun.com

AYER - A fire that displaced four families from their apartment building on Monday evening was likely caused by a cigarette, officials said.

A fire spread through the walls just after 6 p.m. Monday. There were no injuries in the blaze, though the four families who lived there were forced to spend the night elsewhere. An investigation revealed the cause was careless disposal of smoking materials, Ayer Fire Chief Robert Pedrazzi said Tuesday.
"We're thinking it was a cigarette," he said. "It started on an outside porch and extended into the walls."
Pedrazzi said the four-unit apartment building suffered about $250,000 in damage and that repairs would take "an extended period of time." Until those are complete, the tenants will not be able to return to their homes.

"The house was built in 1900," Pedrazzi said. "It was probably quite elaborate when it was built ... But the way it's built, if they want to put it back the way it was, it's going to take some time."

Firefighters from Littleton, Devens, Shirley, and Lunenburg provided mutual aid at the scene, while firefighters from Groton provided coverage at Ayer fire stations Monday. Responders took about an hour to contain the blaze and were on the scene for approximately two and a half hours.

December 18 - Maine

Part 2 - Now

It has been a few days, but I wanted to finish this post and "the rest of the story".

I am staying in Maine, renting the basement apartment of my sister's other half's summer home, for the winter. He graciously opened up his home for me and my kittles for the next few months. I am safe, I am warm, and have pretty much what I need for a few months along the coast of Maine.

The apartment has everything I need - full kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. I will be able to set up my easel and computer in the second bedroom. Her other half also very kindly obtained a library card as I only brought a few books with me. I will be able to borrow books from the local library during the winter on his card, which makes me very happy :)

My amazing insurance company delivered the boxes some friends and I had packed for Maine last Saturday afternoon. Travelers Insurance has been totally awesome through this whole ordeal. I cannot say enough for procuring renter's insurance (I always have when I rented). To those who have made fun of me for "wasting my money" - well. Sure was not from where I am standing.

Travelers came in and assessed the damage to my things after the Fire Marshall and when my landlord's insurance company was there. They have been in contact with the Fire Dept. and the cleaners and contractors who will be rehabbing the building the next few months. They packed up my entire apartment that was salvageable and put it into storage. They disposed of the items deemed unsalvageable - mostly "soft goods". Couch, bed, curtains, rugs, etc.

Travelers issued me an "emergency" check to cover things I needed immediately after. I left that night in my PJs and bathrobe, and had no clothes etc. with me. The firefighters rescued my kitties and medications, but for about 4 days that is all I had. They will cover the replacement cost of the items lost.

So apartment insurance? Oh yeah, more than well worth it :)

Now I am a temporary resident of Maine. My sister and her other half generally come up here every other week, but as it is coming up on Christmas and all they will not be back until New Year's. Unless it snows 6" or more, as it did yesterday. (Will explain in another post!)

Sister was here last weekend; movers arrived late Saturday afternoon. We shopped Sunday; I needed a bunch of stuff at Walmart and grocery store while she was here, so we did that. Small stuff I am able to pick up on my own. The big stuff not so much.

I unpacked my few boxes last week as the temperatures started to steadily drop. Suffice it to say I have not ventured outside in a week. It snowed yesterday; ended up with not quite 6". Then it started to rain early this morning. Temps are forecasted to drop again the next few days, so not a good scenario (they need their driveway to be clear). Sister's other half arrived late this morning to clean up the driveway and took care of more than a few things around the place for me as well.

Thus, my intrepid followers, I am ensconced in Maine for the season.

I have mentioned before, I firmly believe everything happens for a reason. I am scratching my head about the reason for this, but have faith the reason(s) will become clear to me. It is another phase in my life, for sure. I think I am dealing well with what has happened. The fire was not caused by me; everyone got out safely and all pets are alive and well.

Taking it a bit at a time here. "One foot in front of the other". I am OK and breathing a little easier. To reiterate: I am safe and warm. As are all my kitties. As I said in the previous post, the rest is just "stuff".

I will post next week, perhaps add some pictures of my new temporary quarters :) Temps will be going down tomorrow and Tuesday, and although I would like to get out to pick up a few random things I forgot I am not in a hurry.

Stay tuned. This WILL be an adventure!!

Wednesday, December 14, Maine

Part 1 - What's Happened - The Fire

Wow.... So very much has happened in the past month since my last post. I was going to post about my sister and her partner's trip to the Finger Lakes, but stuff happened, and Thanksgiving came so quickly.

The Finger Lakes trip will have to wait a bit as there is a more pressing reason I have not posted in so long.

I have been displaced for the winter (at least) due to a fire in my apartment building a few weeks ago. It started outside on the first floor according to the reports. It manifested itself with a ton of smoke. I was very tired that day, and was getting ready to settle into bed early with some dinner and TV. I must have dozed off for a few minutes prior to my plans. I woke to the smell of smoke, and when I went into the living room there was a great deal of smoke billowing up through the floor. I opened the hall door and screamed for my neighbors across and upstairs. 911 was called.

Then I did the one thing you are not supposed to do. I went back in to try to get my cats. I keep their carriers out in case of emergency. The smoke was very thick and black at this point, and my neighbors were screaming at me to get out of the building. I finally did.

The firefighters arrived quickly, and fortunately the building was not a total loss. All humans got out. All pets got out alive thanks to the wonderful, amazing firefighters. All of us had pets (mostly cats), and all survived. Those guys were amazing.Totally. Absolutely.

I called my brother (he lives about 1/2 mile away), and he arrived very soon after. I was in my PJs and bathrobe, and the head fire guy kept wanting me to leave. I would not leave the scene until all my cats had been brought down. (Yeah I am very stubborn that way. I would not leave without them.)

We (tenants) were not allowed to re-enter the building until a few days later. I was horrified with the initial shock of seeing the extent of the damage from inside. Besides a bunch of windows they had to break open, an entire wall and a half of my living room were missing. My apartment sustained the most damage, unfortunately.

I have never been in a fire before, and it is not an experience I care to repeat (or keep reliving)! There was not a lot of fire, fortunately, as it is an old Victorian style building and could have gone up like a tinder box. Mostly very heavy smoke damage.

The kitties and I stayed at my brother's for about 2 weeks. It will take 3 to 4 months for the building rehab, which is the winter. My brother's place is pretty small, and I have to give him a lot of credit for putting up with me and my 4 (alive!!) kitties. I basically overran his living room between my stuff, which was not really that much, and two ex-dog crates that housed my kitttles while I was there.

I will post again within a day or so with "the rest of the story" (as Paul Harvey used to say).

I am alive, well, safe and warm. My cats are alive, well, safe and warm. That, in the end, is really THE most important thing.

All the rest is..... just stuff.