House Fires and House Guests



The Brunker Home in Huntsville



On Friday, January 21, 2011 there was a terrible house fire in Huntsville.  The home was completely destroyed by the flames which are believed to have started because of an electrical short in the attic.  The home was owned by the Brunker Family with one, Jess Brunker, as a resident.

Jess is now living at our house.  He has been an easy houseguest.  He is quiet, unassuming and hardly allows me to do anything for him.  I have the urge to mother him; I guess because he is homeless and that makes me sad.  I keep asking him if he has eaten, if he needs laundry done, if he is warm enough, etc.  Jess keeps remembering things that were in his home that he no longer owns because they are destroyed.  When he showed up at our house, he had a small Pac Sun bag which contained all of his earthly belongings including a toothbrush and a couple of t shirts he had just purchased.  He was grateful for the things he kept in his car and pants pockets because everything else is gone.

Jess's Attic Bedroom Aflame

The very next day there was another house fire.  Our friends and former ward members, the Ray's, home was virtually engulfed in flames and even though the fire department was more successful in putting out this fire because there was a hydrant closer than a mile away (unlike the Brunker's where the fire department could not locate a water source within a mile radius.)  The Rays have still not been able to reenter their home and see what remains undamaged.  I'm so sad for these losses; these events feel so tragic and cruel.  But then I have to realize that not one person was killed in these fires (just a couple of cats of Jess's place) and that is a blessing.

We are grateful we have the room to host a fire refugee.  We've had the pleasure of having some lovely people stay at our house over the last few years.  Kelly Ahern lived here for a while, Mimi has been a recent guest, Jess is here now, and I hope that my Mother will soon come to live with us.  I'm trying to convince her to come sooner than her projected December 2011 move-in date.

There is still one extra bedroom; if you hear of any poor, homeless, destitute survivors let me know...