This Wednesday my parents house caught on fire. The house really wasn't in that great of shape, but my dad was in the process of cleaning it out to start some remodels, so this really was a kick in the face. The damage is extensive, and I'm pretty sure it's not worth trying to save the house at this point. All things considered though, things turned out alright. My parents weren't home when the fire started, they have a place to stay, we're pretty sure the family photos haven't been damaged (haven't gotten to the china hutch to see, too much debris in the way), and they are handling things pretty well. They have the attitude that there is no use getting upset because that won't solve anything. We all just want to get things cleaned up so we can move on.
Here are some photos I took of the damage: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54676497@N00/sets/72157626552632808/
The one thing that really hurts us all though, is that the two kitties didn't make it. They died from smoke inhalation. The fire department found Spike (a big fat tabby boy with white socks) the night of the fire, but no one could find Sugar (the smaller black and white cat that was slightly evil, but still very loved). Sean & I drove out first thing Thursday morning and helped my dad clear a path through the house and do some general cleanup while my mom was at work (those fire hoses are wicked powerful, there was a foot of random debris throughout the most damaged areas, just things knocked down, or damaged pieces of the house).
When my mom got off work and came over to the house she started a mission to find Sugar. I really didn't want her to find the cat, because I knew it would upset her. So I set about to locate the poor girl and spare my mother. I found her in one of her favorite hiding spots, in the back corner between the window and the couch. Both of the kitties will be greatly missed. I don't even have a picture of Spike, and the 1 picture I have of Sugar is from an old cell phone, but here it is. Goodbye dear friends, you will be missed.
I'm so sorry to hear about your cats. I endured a house fire in 2004 and sacrificed computers to spend time getting the cat into a carrier. I didn't even think of smoke, I was worried that as a black cat she would be hurt by the firemen's trucks). I lost half of my graduate thesis research, but I would not have changed this. My mom and I went (dug) through the deep debris pile to try to salvage or create a damage inventory. What we learned: cotton and most clothes do not need to be dry cleaned and can be washed. I threw out everything sooty, but later discovered the smell and soot washes out. Computer hard drives that are damaged by water can maybe have their harddrives transfered to salvage the data. The sun can dry out books or other paper and remove the smell! My mom also found that her pictures dried out (not in the sun) and that the sooty smell went away, leaving just a slight appearance of aging. (If your family photos ARE damaged in any way.) Watch out for breathing in the 'pile of crap' on the ground. My mother and I had some lung problems for a few months after because of all the fiberglass insulation, mold, soggy fibers, etc. Hopefully this is not even relevant in your parents' situation. Good luck.
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