St. Charles Fire

A few weeks ago I was awakened in the early morning to a flurry of texts from my sister. With sleepy eyes I scrolled through the text and immediately was wide awake. My sister alerted me to the fact that the house next door to my parents burned overnight. I was worried about my parents and if there house had damaged. My family was really lucky - my parents and their house were untouched by the fire.

My heart immediately went out to the family next door. I quickly learned that five people were living in the house and the (step)father and 3 yr. old girl had perished. The mom and two sons were in critical condition. The oldest son had escaped the house by climbing out of the two story window. Several days later I would learn that the mom and second oldest son passed away. My heart went out to the little boy who lost everything in one week. At least his father was still alive.

One of the most heartwarming things was how the neighborhood came together in light of this tragedy. I went home over Labor Day and was able to see for myself the memorial set up my the community and the destruction the fire caused. I feel so lucky that my parents house was unharmed. If there had been windows on the side of the house where the fire started, my parents house could have sustained a considerable amount of damage.

Here is picture of my dad and niece the day after the fire. My parents were in the news several times that week with accounts of the fire.