Matt and I had some excitement last evening… an electrical fire. We’re all safe. Tiny is staying with Pam and Rob (thanks again!) and Holly is in boarding (there’s burnt insulation all through the house). The house is okay. There’s just been some damage that we’ll have to take care of.

What happened was around 4:30 or so yesterday the lights upstairs flickered and went out. Thinking we blew a fuse, we played with the fuse box a bit to try tripping the power back on but, no luck. So, Matt turned that circuit off and called an electrician. The electrician had to come in from Braintree (about 30 minutes away), but we figured the problem wasn’t major. About twenty minutes later, I went back up the stairs and smelled burning wood and heard a crinkling sound. Thing is… we don’t have a wood burning stove. I called Matt up, he felt the walls at the top of the stairs, then felt the globe on the stairway light. It was burning hot! Suddenly, the light flicked on, off, then the globe fell off the ceiling. We then noticed a soft glow behind the light fixture.

Matt called the fire department (they’re just down the street – literally). We then grabbed Tiny out from under the bed, jammed him in his carrier, plopped him downstairs (Holly was already in her crate), then turned off the main circuit to the whole house. The electrician showed up, followed immediately by the fire department. Then, things got interesting.

The firefighters came in with axes, flashlights and the hose – which freaked the pair of us out because all the computer equipment is upstairs. But, they were very precise and kept the water localized. Aside from the lit area and the carpet/walls underneath, everything remained dry. Unfortunately, to make sure the fire was out, the back wall had to be partially ripped down, causing soot, ashes and burnt, soggy, old insulation to fall everywhere. Meanwhile, Matt, the electrician (who’s also named Matt) and myself are standing downstairs out of the way, laughing about the irony of having candles lit with the fire department upstairs dowsing a fire – at this point it’s dark outside and no power in the house.

The firefighters cleared that area then took a thermal gun (I believe that’s what it was called) and checked the walls all through the rest of the house, even down to the basement. They also opened up the basement door leading outside to draft some of the smoke out – the air smelled heavily of burnt wood and insulation at this point. After a while things were declared all clear. They then removed a good amount of the debris from the top of the steps, took our insurance info, grilled Matt the electrician to ensure he was citified, told us if there’s any problems to give them a call, then drove off around the block and back into the firehouse. Thanks guys!

Then… Matt the electrician got to work.

With things still damp he went up on his ladder and started stripping the burnt wiring away. Turns out, the wiring that caught fire was some of the last remaining cloth covered wiring in the house (the house is around a 115 years old or so). It also burnt some of the new wiring nearby. But, he cleared the destroyed wires, closed that section of wiring off from the rest of the house, got the power back on, then drove back to Braintree. He’ll be back later this week to start the repair job. Thanks Matt!

Now we’re left with a messy, smoke filled house and two very annoyed pets. Neither Holly or Tiny could come out because of the insulation tracked all through the house. I tried cleaning a patch for Holly, but the stuff clings to your shoes and drops off everywhere. And this is not something you want a pet to eat. Tiny, meanwhile, was in worse shape stuck in his travel carrier. We tried calling the animal resort, but they weren’t open. Pam and Rob were able to take Tiny in for a few days till we can get things cleaned up. Thanks guys! I hope he’s not being any trouble. Holly went into boarding this morning because there’s insulation bits throughout the yard as well – with everyone going in, out and around the house to make sure the fire hadn’t spread.

But yes, it was a wild evening. We’re now waiting for the insurance assessor to come by and tell us what he thinks. At the moment, we know the wiring has to be replaced as do the walls – the wall at the top of the stairwell and the walls in the bedroom and my office took damage. The carpets are totaled. And the walls will have to be repainted. Also, there’s a heavy smell of smoke throughout the house. Matt, my Matt, thinks we’re looking at around $13,000 to do all the repairs. Still, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. We caught it early, before our own smoke detector went off oddly enough.

Still, this leaves us with a problem. We’re looking at the possibility of cleaners, contractors and painters coming in, not to mention Matt the electrician. While none of the computer equipment took a hit (thank God) my office is a mess and will be ground zero for repairs. Sitting up here right now is uncomfortable because of the thick smoke smell and the cold – our house is now open to the attic and cold air is flowing in. Matt and I are thinking of moving the Cintiq downstairs into the dinning area so I can still give you all updates while the repairs are going on. But, we’re not sure how long it will take to get the house back to normal.

Now, I didn’t tell you all this to beg you for money. That’s not our style. We run a business and businesses take hits. That’s the nature of running a business. I would like to ask, if I may, that everyone bear with us for a bit. Things are going to be chaotic as we get the house back on track and updates may suffer a bit. I’ll do my best, but our house and family must come first. I hope everyone understands. We’ll keep you all up to date as we learn more about what we’re facing here.

Thanks again for sticking by us. Take care and make sure your smoke detectors work dang it!

“Fire is never a gentle master.”
– Proverb