This morning I looked out my front door to see if traffic was still backed up because of the bad weather, and across the street I saw smoke pouring out of my neighbor's garage, above the garage door. I called 911, and before I finished dialing I saw the son and the dog come out of the house. I was relieved to see him come out, I wouldn't have even known if he was home or at school - he was home only because his vocational education program was closed for some reason. He was in his room doing homework and the fire started in the garage, perhaps from some wiring. I don't know if they'll figure it out or not. Anyway, the firemen had a lot of trouble getting to the fire hall, and then the trucks had trouble getting to the fire, and then had challenges with the snow and ice, and the temp was dropping and wind blowing as they worked to put out the flames.
This neighbor is the kind of guy who's got (had) every tool you could ever need. He later said to me, "Why couldn't you have borrowed some of my tools yesterday?!" The garage was full of all kinds of propane tanks, gasoline cans, there were a couple snowmobiles on a trailer, plenty of cans of chemicals to keep a fire roaring and popping.
This first pic was taken 3 minutes after I called 911:
8 minutes later, things weren't looking good, and my kids were really freaking out (4 and 7 year old boys, and later my 10 year old girl woke up - they're home schooled):
These videos were both taken within 15 minutes of my 911 call:
Hosenfeld's garage on Penfield Road burning - YouTube
Hosenfeld's garage on Penfield Road burning 2 - YouTube
Here's what was left once the fire was out:
The house is condemned; fire, smoke, and water damaged beyond repair. I helped the son gather some rifles and shotguns from the basement so he could dry them off in the living room. He's in high school, but he was handling those guns with great safety, care, and confidence. They removed the guns to a relative's home, as the house has no power, and was to be boarded up (required by law.)
The son first tried to call 911 by land line, but the cordless phone didn't work - because the breaker panel in the garage was already burned and the power went out.
I need some LOUD smoke detectors for the more remote parts of my house (basement, garage, attic.) I also want to get some large fire extinguishers. You really can't argue that they're too expensive, after watching something like this - not that this could have necessarily been prevented, but who knows, with a loud detector screaming away, they could at least have had a huge head start on saving some of their belongings (tools, snowmobiles), and getting the fire put out before it spread from the garage to the back of the house and into the roof.
Oh, I also need to back up my computers more regularly, and put the backups someplace safe. Ooooh, I would be so dead if all the data in my home burned up...
I'm appreciating my warm house, with my family tucked safely in their beds right now. Also appreciating volunteers who battle fires in all kinds of conditions.
Scott in Penfield
This neighbor is the kind of guy who's got (had) every tool you could ever need. He later said to me, "Why couldn't you have borrowed some of my tools yesterday?!" The garage was full of all kinds of propane tanks, gasoline cans, there were a couple snowmobiles on a trailer, plenty of cans of chemicals to keep a fire roaring and popping.
This first pic was taken 3 minutes after I called 911:
8 minutes later, things weren't looking good, and my kids were really freaking out (4 and 7 year old boys, and later my 10 year old girl woke up - they're home schooled):
These videos were both taken within 15 minutes of my 911 call:
Hosenfeld's garage on Penfield Road burning - YouTube
Hosenfeld's garage on Penfield Road burning 2 - YouTube
Here's what was left once the fire was out:
The house is condemned; fire, smoke, and water damaged beyond repair. I helped the son gather some rifles and shotguns from the basement so he could dry them off in the living room. He's in high school, but he was handling those guns with great safety, care, and confidence. They removed the guns to a relative's home, as the house has no power, and was to be boarded up (required by law.)
The son first tried to call 911 by land line, but the cordless phone didn't work - because the breaker panel in the garage was already burned and the power went out.
I need some LOUD smoke detectors for the more remote parts of my house (basement, garage, attic.) I also want to get some large fire extinguishers. You really can't argue that they're too expensive, after watching something like this - not that this could have necessarily been prevented, but who knows, with a loud detector screaming away, they could at least have had a huge head start on saving some of their belongings (tools, snowmobiles), and getting the fire put out before it spread from the garage to the back of the house and into the roof.
Oh, I also need to back up my computers more regularly, and put the backups someplace safe. Ooooh, I would be so dead if all the data in my home burned up...
I'm appreciating my warm house, with my family tucked safely in their beds right now. Also appreciating volunteers who battle fires in all kinds of conditions.
Scott in Penfield