I woke up around 4:45 this morning when Brad sat up in bed and stared at our bedroom windows. I noticed as my eyes began to focus that there were blinking red lights bouncing off the wall behind his head. Probably an ambulance in our alley. Since I heard no sirens, I closed my eyes even as Brad got up and headed to the living room. He was back in a flash. “Come with me!” he said with an urgency in his voice. “The Pfeifer house under construction behind us is on fire!” As I rolled over to face our bedroom windows, I could see that it was not just the red lights of the emergency vehicles that lit our room – there was also an eerie orange glow. I jumped out of bed and slipped on my glasses and slippers. As I stepped into our living room, my heart dropped. The house was burning like a bonfire. From our vantage point, we could only see the top half of the roof so we ran up the stairs to our game room. From there, we had front row seats and we watched the drama for over an hour. Here are some attempts I made to take pictures:
First view
We think the fire department had arrived only moments before we did, since they weren’t even spraying water on the fire yet when I took the picture (above).
With the first spray of water
Once the water started to have an effect
First look this morning
To the right, you can see Jeff Pfeifer’s black truck. I can only imagine how he is feeling this morning. This was a custom – not a spec – and whoever was building even added a little string of Christmas lights by the electric post during the holidays. I can’t imagine how sick they must be over this. Then again, like I told Brad, they get to change any of the selections they weren’t happy with!
The question I have, given that another home in the adjacent neighborhood (another one that was under construction) burned about six months ago, is whether or not this was arson. It’s hard to imagine how a home could just burn down like that with new wiring and all, but I guess all it takes is one lazy sub with a cigarette or someone who doesn’t know how to wire properly. The shame of it is that Pfeifer is the only true custom builder still working in our neighborhood.
I took some great video but it’s too long to upload in its current state. I’m going to edit it down and post it separately.
Wow! That last picture just made my stomach sink! From the earlier pictures, I couldn’t tell how far they were along and I was assuming just a shell. How do you get that smoke smell out of a place already built? Wow! So glad no one was in it though.
We think they will have to take it down to the foundation. But they had just finished bricking a few weeks – no more than a month ago.
Learning from the fire in the Wicker home a few years ago, they had to take it down to the exterior shell and foundation to clear out any smoke and damage. I am thanking God no one was living there yet. What a way to wake up!!! We suppose you were up from then on. I also hope this is not a discouragement to Pfeifer to continue building.