The entire thing ran very smoothly. All the fire departments (Efland, Hillsborough/Orange Rural, Orange Grove, New Hope and Chapel Hill) and the EMS crew were very organized. Once the first bales of hay were lit, the morning proceeded in a series of teams in and out of the house, feeling the heat, experiencing the smoke, and putting down the fires as they needed. They had to chase the fire as it moved between floors and into places they were not yet ready to let burn. And by lunch, a lot of training had occurred, a lot of firefighters were sweaty and tired, but the house was still whole. They brought their large pig cooker and made grilled their lunch and caught their breaths.. then it was back to training and eventually, letting the house go.
They let the back half burn first, and while it was falling apart, they were still in and out of the front, even upstairs. Eventually thought, the entire house was allowed to become engulfed, and at that point, they simply managed the flames and let my son use the hose, and the house burned to the ground. The entire time though, it was a controlled burn. Walls were pushed into the fire, not let to fall out on the ground. The tin roof held the fire in place and prevented the old trees from getting burned. Once the tin was no longer supported the firefighters removed it from the flames so the beams and floors could burn.
About 4 the firefighters were pulling out. They said they had about 4 hours of work to do yet when they got back to the station… hosed and equipment to clean, clean hoses to put on the trucks so they were ready for a call, uniforms to clean and boots to wash. It was a huge undertaking.
They came back after 8 pm in a truck to check on the smouldering remains. It smouldered all night and is still smouldering today. They turned on the spotlight and took a look to make sure things looked fine, and they did. We watched from the den, like looking out over an evening campfire.
Here are some pictures from throughout the burn.
Back of house, the old kitchen
Towards the end.. just letting it rip..
Our son, a junior, keeping a watchful eye.
Our old bedroom and front of house
The eldest found that the hoses were tough to handle...
Resting but watching…
It was about 50 degrees this day, with a sharp wind when it blew, which wasn’t much. But still, you were only warm when you were in the sun. Unless you were a firefighter, then you were sweating. The gear is heavy and hot, the air tanks are heavy, and the heat the building was throwing off was quite strong. And we were standing far away, not inside. The EMS people kept a watchful eye and supplied gatorade.. and fortunately, everyone stayed safe, firefighters and spectators alike.
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