Where Do I Begin??

DAY ONE---still friday May 21st.

Its about 7 or 7:30 a.m. and I couldn't sleep anymore because I knew I needed to make some phone calls. Thankfully my cell was partially charged. I called family members and  asked them to call others. I called my work place to let someone know what had happened and that I wouldn't be in at my scheduled time which was 1, but  I would be in for the evening. My boss text me later that morning to let me know if there was anything he could do to let him know,  plus another manager called and said I didn't have to come in at all if I wasn't up to it. I insisted on working the evening cause I really didn't know what  else to do since it was the beginning of the long weekend (Victoria Weekend).  Plus it was the busy time of the year at CT. Around the time I was making phone calls Helen was up and starting her day of duties. A different day of duties for her something that definitely wasn't on her list of to do things. Since I had left the apartment so quickly in just my nightgown & housecoat during the night I wasn't about to go out in my night attire back to the apartment in daylight. I really appreciated Helen's leg work for me that morning until I felt presentable enough to go out. Several people in the immediate neighbourhood went to the apartment to supply some food & beverages for the firefighters since they were there till noon or later. Most of the firefighters were probably at the apartment  fighting the fire for 10 or more hours.  On one of Helen's trips to the apartment the apartment manager asked if she would ask me if there was anything I needed immediately from the apartment like meds etc. The fire commissioner would go into the apartment to get the items if possible. I drew a layout of my bedroom where the items were that I wanted like a safe, passport (which was on my dresser under some papers, should have been in the safe) and my cell phone charger. When those items were retrieved the fire commisioner also grabbed my camera & case in passing thinking I might want it as well. I was thankful for his thoughtful act. Blessing #1 my passport was untouched by the fire (THANK YOU LORD). My cell phone charger had a smoky smell, but it wasn't damaged by the heat of the fire and the same applied to my camera. Glad I had the camera & case in the bedroom and not in the living room.
After Helen had purchased some clothes for me I took a shower and felt ready for the most part to venture out & take a look at the apartment. A sight I knew would be painful, but I needed to go to confirm my thoughts. When I got to the apartment the firefighters were sitting on the front lawn taking a much needed break and they were quite the sight. My apartment manager was still there and she gave me a much needed hug. As I stood there looking up at the BIG, BLACK gaping hole at what was my suite my emotions almost got the best of me. Another neighbour lady was at the apartment and gave me some names & phone numbers for possible rental buildings. Now that I had seen the damage from the outside I needed to move on and find another place.
Shortly after lunch my son & daughter-in-law (Diedrich & Judy) with their 2 children came into town to take a look and said we could stay at their place until I found a place. As I'm waiting on the sidewalk for them to show up I literally felt like a homeless person.
My next stop was to buy some shoes for work since I couldn't wear my open toed sandals. After purchasing my shoes I drove to Winkler to Friesen Insurance to report & file a fire claim. I was very glad to have fire insurance. The clerk at Friesen's told me that an insurance adjudicator would be in touch with me and that's all she said. I was a little upset that she didn't offer any other suggestions as to what else to do.

As I was doing my errands before work Ruby was with friends. It was a school skip day for Ruby, but she still went to school in the morning to give them a report. The teachers were very good to her and helped with assignments that were lost in the fire. Ruby's friends also took her shopping and supplied some clothes.

So after reporting my fire claim I went to Superstore to buy a few items. As I step into the store I'm just looking around thinking where do I begin?? I know I need to start all over, but what & where do I start.
Needless to say I bought very little during that first stop at the store. There would be many more shopping days ahead.
As I'm at work getting ready to begin my evening shift several co-workers give their regards and ask how I'm doing & what do I need. A uniform shirt was put out for me & it was the last one in my size.  One of the many questions from the female co-workers was "what about Ruby's grad dress?" That I guess was another blessing, Ruby's grad dress was at the seamstress for alterations, but her shoes & purse were lost in the fire.

As the work evening progressed I was kept busy which was good. For the most part I kept my emotions in check during work until a former co-worker and his wife came in and offered some assistance.
Then around 8 p.m. the events of the long night & day were starting to take their toll on me. The general manager noticed I was starting to look very tired so he allowed me to leave work before closing plus I had a back up customer service cashier that evening.
So before going to Diedrich & Judy's in Roland  for the night I needed to go back to Morden to pick Ruby up. During the day Diedrich had also borrowed some beds and set them up in his daughter's room so we had something to sleep on. At that time we had no idea how long we would need to stay at their place.
 Meanwhile the insurance adjudicator had called my cell, but I missed the call due to work and I didn't know the number that he'd be calling from.
As we get settled in at Diedrich & Judy's bedtime definitely was before midnight that night.
I was thankful to be able to stay with family, it made the stay more comfortable.
So to close the day there were things to be thankful for; glad all the tenants got out safely, for caring people and for the few items that were retrieved from the apartment.
Time to give my mind & body a rest. Goodnight.

Apartment Fire May 21/10

Here is my story on what I experienced as the result of an apartment fire. No doubt a life can change in a matter of seconds or minutes. My purpose for this blog is to help others that may have experienced the same thing or as a guide for those that may experience something similar in the future. I'm sure almost everyone knows of someone that has been through a fire disaster. Some may even say it will never happen to me and hopefully it doesn't.

The week of May 21st was a busy week for me at the store due to it being the start of the lawn/gardening season.
May 20th my day off and nothing really out of the ordinary to start my day besides maybe sleeping in a bit. I had nothing planned for that day so I could do what I pleased. I did color my hair that day at home. It was a gorgeous day and summer-like temps had been around for a couple of days. So for supper Ruby (my daughter) & myself walked to Warky's. After supper I went to a Church  business meeting which took a couple of hours. That same evening I picked up some movies from Video Stop (thursday nights are cheaper). I believe I also picked up 2 books from the library during the day. I'm thinking due to the nice temperatures and summer holidays I got the books from the library to maybe plan my holidays.
Little did I know that my holidays this summer would be different.
Before going to bed that night, which is never bfore midnight  I posted a status from shuttle status which was posted at 12:11 a.m. May 21st. (I checked my FB status for that day). At the time I didn't know that the smoke was forming  already underneath my balcony. Due to the nice temperatures that week I had been opening my bedroom window for the night. As I opened the window I thought I smelt smoke, but didn't really look to see where it was coming from so just ignored it. Shortly after getting into bed the smoke smell was getting stronger plus I heard a crackling sound & saw a glow shining into my room. Something didn't feel right so I got up. I went to the window again thinking who is burning so late at night. Thats when I saw the black smoke bellowing from the patio below me. I knew then that it meant getting out. I ran into Ruby's room and woke her up  saying "I think we had  better get out." I proceeded to call 911 with my home phone to report the fire at approximately 12:30 a.m.  After the call I grabbed my purse, cell phone, keys and slipped my house coat on & sandals. Ruby put a light sweater on as well, took her new purse and slipped on her flip flops. As we left our apartment suite Ruby pulled the fire alarm and we headed out the north entrance. The fire was starting to flare up towards the second floor which was our suite. The police were at the scene in minutes and asked for someone's keys so they could get into the apartment to get the other tenants out.   Shortly after that the fire trucks were there. At that moment we were on the sidewalk across the street already just watching as the fire blazed up the apartment. As the fire spread we could hear things popping, snapping & crackling cause it was an older building. We just stand there in disbelief thinking this isn't happening, but it is. I think my emotions were numb cause I couldn't even cry even though Ruby did a bit. (Earlier that evening Ruby had asked if she could go to a friends house for the night, but I said no, she could go another time. I'm glad I hadn't let her go).
I'm not sure how long we stood there to watch, but eventually I walked to the south side of the building with another tenant as she was looking for her mother. The tenants parking lot was on the south side of the building. The policemen were there as well and asked if anyone could move their vehicles to do so. I did have my keys so I moved my car to the other side of the street. As I was moving my car Calla. N  called me on my cell  asking if we were alright and that we could come stand at their corner which was just 1 block from the apartment. We accepted the invite. As I'm walking the one block east the smoke was intense already along the street  and I had to cover my mouth so I wouldn't inhale all the smoke.
People were gathered all along the sidewalk already from the apartment to the next block or 2. As I get to Neufeld's yard I get several hugs knowing we're safe. Others had gathered at their corner yard as well. After awhile I walked back to the apartment a different way to get my car and parked it closer to Neufeld's yard.
We stood outside a bit longer until I started getting cold. Neufeld's opened their house for us that night. Once inside we talked for quite awhile probably till almost 3 or 4 a.m. I also called my daughter (Melody) during the night when I knew she'd be up with her newborn daughter. Melody was the first family member to know.  I had many things going through my mind knowing almost full well that I may have lost everything in the fire. Sleep didn't come easily that morning and when it did it wasn't a restful sleep, which was maybe 2 hours worth.  Morning is almost dawning & a new challenge/journey is upon me. Surprisingly enough I didn't panic or get too anxious. I knew people would be praying & helping. My faith was in the Lord that we would get through this one day at a time.