We have had a lot of questions in regards to our house fire and people wanting updates, so I figured this would be a lot easier than trying to fit it all on Facebook.
To explain the story, I'll go to the night before, which thankfully had been a wonderful night. I had gotten home from work at about 6:45 pm (usual time) and Kiana had asked me to do something with her. I suggested we make some cookies which she thought was a wonderful idea. (And no, surprisingly, this wasn't what caused the fire!) So we made No-Bake Cookies which we all love. We then had Family Home Evening, which included a longer than expected game of Disney Trivia Pursuit. We finally sat down for dinner at about 10:00 pm (after finding out our microwave no longer cooked) and started watching Encino Man, then enjoyed some of our cookies. Then we went to bed.
I woke up at about 2:45 am to a strong smell of something burning. It smelled plastic and electrical. At first I thought the motor to the fan that I place by my bed at night had burned out, then maybe something plastic in the dishwasher melted. Jer and I searched the house for over a half hour touching light switches and plugs, looking for the source of the smell, but were unable to locate it. There was no smoke in the house, just the burning smell. I had to work in the morning, so still a little worried, we went back to bed.
At about 4:30 am the smoke alarms went off. I ran downstairs and found that Jer had found the source of the fire behind our big screen TV. He had yanked the TV out of it's cubby area and I could see small flames coming from behind. The cords were all melted and the wall was burnt. He told me to get the kids out of the house, so I ran upstairs to them. They luckily had gotten hot during the night and were sleeping next to each other on the floor. We ran down the stairs (after I grabbed some pants considering I had been sleeping in a t-shirt), grabbed my cell phone at the bottom of the stairs and ran out the front door. I got the kids outside, then crawled back inside to get Jer. We both went back outside and I called 911 while Jer ran around back to try and turn off the gas. I went around back to find Jer just in time to see the back window explode out. Luckily he wasn't in or too close to the house. We ran around front and I again called 911, panicked now that the fire was so huge, so fast. They notified me that four engines were on their way and would be there soon. We then moved across the street and waited.
The fire engines arrived quickly after from Boise, Meridian, Kuna and Whitney. The fire crews worked quickly and were able to contain the fire and stop it from spreading to nearby homes. They were very good at keeping us informed of what was going on and answering any questions we had after the fire.
We had many neighbors and friends arrive quickly after the fire started to offer us support and anything else that we might need. We really found out what a wonderful neighborhood we live in. We have had continuous support from everyone around us and we hope you all know how much it has meant to us and how much it has helped us make it through this difficult time.
The home is still standing, but is a total loss. Everything that did not burn received smoke and/or water damage. The kids have had a hard time understanding why they can't go get the toys that are still in the house. But they do seem to be handling everything okay.
To explain the story, I'll go to the night before, which thankfully had been a wonderful night. I had gotten home from work at about 6:45 pm (usual time) and Kiana had asked me to do something with her. I suggested we make some cookies which she thought was a wonderful idea. (And no, surprisingly, this wasn't what caused the fire!) So we made No-Bake Cookies which we all love. We then had Family Home Evening, which included a longer than expected game of Disney Trivia Pursuit. We finally sat down for dinner at about 10:00 pm (after finding out our microwave no longer cooked) and started watching Encino Man, then enjoyed some of our cookies. Then we went to bed.
I woke up at about 2:45 am to a strong smell of something burning. It smelled plastic and electrical. At first I thought the motor to the fan that I place by my bed at night had burned out, then maybe something plastic in the dishwasher melted. Jer and I searched the house for over a half hour touching light switches and plugs, looking for the source of the smell, but were unable to locate it. There was no smoke in the house, just the burning smell. I had to work in the morning, so still a little worried, we went back to bed.
At about 4:30 am the smoke alarms went off. I ran downstairs and found that Jer had found the source of the fire behind our big screen TV. He had yanked the TV out of it's cubby area and I could see small flames coming from behind. The cords were all melted and the wall was burnt. He told me to get the kids out of the house, so I ran upstairs to them. They luckily had gotten hot during the night and were sleeping next to each other on the floor. We ran down the stairs (after I grabbed some pants considering I had been sleeping in a t-shirt), grabbed my cell phone at the bottom of the stairs and ran out the front door. I got the kids outside, then crawled back inside to get Jer. We both went back outside and I called 911 while Jer ran around back to try and turn off the gas. I went around back to find Jer just in time to see the back window explode out. Luckily he wasn't in or too close to the house. We ran around front and I again called 911, panicked now that the fire was so huge, so fast. They notified me that four engines were on their way and would be there soon. We then moved across the street and waited.
The fire engines arrived quickly after from Boise, Meridian, Kuna and Whitney. The fire crews worked quickly and were able to contain the fire and stop it from spreading to nearby homes. They were very good at keeping us informed of what was going on and answering any questions we had after the fire.
We had many neighbors and friends arrive quickly after the fire started to offer us support and anything else that we might need. We really found out what a wonderful neighborhood we live in. We have had continuous support from everyone around us and we hope you all know how much it has meant to us and how much it has helped us make it through this difficult time.
The home is still standing, but is a total loss. Everything that did not burn received smoke and/or water damage. The kids have had a hard time understanding why they can't go get the toys that are still in the house. But they do seem to be handling everything okay.
Here are some pictures of the damage to our home.
The back of our house. 
Our family room and fireplace.
Crown molding Jer added throughout our home.
The kitchen and dining room table.
Where the fire started and what was left of the 62" TV.
The kid's upstairs bathtub.
Kiana's clothes in her room. The rest of the clothes were on the floor
due to the hangers melting.
Our fridge. Kiana later told Grandma Chris that if I had known that we were going to have a fire, I would have let her eat more cookies so that they wouldn't have gone to waste. I love the way that kid's mind's work!
