Fire-y

My sister and her dh were gone today, to take in the autumn colours on part of the Cabot Trail before the winds pick up and blow all the leaves off.

Our family was having a quiet Sunday evening, lazing around my sister's house. I was sitting in the living room, lights off, when I saw a van or truck with red lights in the front grill pull in and then back out of the driveway. Was that a cop? I didn't know. But then less than 3 minutes later I saw a fire truck with lights flashing pull in to the driveway. It stopped, too. I thought it was peculiar that both the vehicles would choose the same driveway to turn around at. But then he lunged forward and was immediately followed by 2 more firetrucks, all lights a flashing. They pulled up the ATV trail that goes along the side of the property between us and the neighbour Alice. What was going on?

I yelled "Something's happening. There's 3 firetrucks in the yard!" while I was heading out onto the front porch to have a look. Well, that got lazy bodies moving into fast action. And there we saw a fire up in Alice's backyard. At first I thought it must be one of her many outbuildings but turns out, she was just doing her usual burn in her burn barrelundercover of another dark evening. So, it was a contained fire....but I suppose from the road it must have looked like a brushfire. That's what it had been reported as when somebody called the fire department.

Well, its a good thing it wasn't at this address. The fire department has already been called out to 2 brushfires on this very property, and also the house fire that destroyed my sisters house just 2 years ago. They even had to call in the heli's to help. Rest assured, my sister and her dh go to almost all of the fund-raisers for the local volunteer fire department. That's the least they can do! And Alice had faithfully spent almost the entire weekend helping the department out at their lobster-feast. Gotta keep those men busy.

Question for You: Have you ever had an accidental fire?