Thank God that my brother was visiting ...

What could and likely would have been the scene this evening

Who would have known? While I was lying in bed this early evening chatting happily with my eldest son, a "slight" fire broke out in my living room. It was an electrical fire caused by an overloaded surge protector--actually two six-pluggers plugged into the same circuit--twelve appliances and such in one plug!

Well, my brother happened to be walking by when he saw the "explosion" and fire break out. His quick thinking and our efforts in the next few minutes--plus those of the Ocean Shores Fire Department--saved us from what certainly would have been a scene like the one above.

Needless to say, we are all thanking Our Lord for His intervention and the fact that one old man living alone for the past five years was not alone on this particular Saturday in the early evening.

For the safety of both humans and all of the cats (seven sweethearts) plus the one shelter dog (whose name is actually "Sweetheart"), a number of changes will be made in what one of the firemen called a "typical fatality scene." Some of the circuits are already shut off and a licensed electrician will be working on the scene come Monday. It will cost a fortune, according to the firemen and Public Utilities District (PUD) representative who visited the scene, but our lives are worth the cost and effort.

My place looks like an unkempt thrift store, but will take on a bit of housekeeping and electrical upgrading in the weeks ahead.

Praise God that He chose for me to get a warning call, so to speak, while there was someone around to see the fire start. Had Richard not been here, this old forty year-old pile of dry wood would have been ashes--and so would the 74 year-old coot who occupies it!

What if the fire had occurred in the middle of the night? The smoke built so fast that had we not been awake, we would never have made it out.