The Fire

It was 7:00 PM on April 15, 2020, at the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic. My husband Spence, son Jake, and daughter-in-law Kirby had just finished a lovely dinner and had settled into a relaxing evening.  Jake and Kirby were living with us while Jake awaited the beginning of his medical residency the coming June.  They had just become parents to three week old Mac.

After dinner, the kids headed upstairs to put Mac to bed with their dog Bruce following them. Spence and I sat down to watch TV. I vividly recall us talking about how fortunate we were that even though the pandemic had closed us in at home, we were still so blessed because we got to be with our new grandson and at least one part of our family. 

It was a cold April night, so we lit a fire in our fireplace to take the chill out of the house.  About halfway through our TV program, I noticed flames flickering and reflecting in the stained glass front door.  I looked from the fireplace to the door thinking it may have been a reflection. At that very moment, our smoke detectors started blaring, and Jake charged down the stairs thinking he left something in the oven that caught fire. Then I realized the flames were in the window of our garage.

Spence ran to the garage door entryway to the house to find smoke billowing from the top of the door. He immediately began shouting, “Hurry, everyone out! Everyone out!”  I always thought that in a moment like this, I would have a level head and grab things that were precious to us, but that was not the case.  In a hurry to flee a fire that had made its way into the house, we all left with only the clothes on our backs and our cell phones.  We didn’t even have shoes on.  Kirby had Mac wrapped in a blanket and Jake leashed the dog and got him out safely, too. 

It was 8:11 PM when the first call to the fire department was made.  We stood across the street in our neighbors’ front yard and watched as the window we had just passed to exit exploded and flames burst into the air.  Spence had the car keys and was going to try to move the cars away from the house, but we all called out to him to stop.  By the time he got to the edge of our driveway, the garage doors collapsed and engulfed our cars.

Moments later, deputy sheriffs and numerous fire departments arrived as we watched them battle the blaze that was taking 27 years of our lives with it.  It wasn’t until several hours later that the fire was put out and the investigative team entered the space to search for the cause.  They concluded that some faulty wiring in the inner wall of the garage likely started the fire.  While that was going on, Spence and I were questioned about the events of the evening and if there was anything that we think we may have done to cause the fire.  There was nothing. 

With no home to go back to, our neighbors took Spence and me in for the next week while our other children took Jake, Kirby, Mac and Bruce.  Fortunately, our son Luke has children so he came with a car seat for Mac.  Although we all had a place to stay, we didn’t have any essentials like shoes, coats, toothbrushes, combs, etc. There is nothing that I have experienced that is more humbling than to have everything you need in one moment and have it gone the next. If it wasn’t for the outpouring of support from our neighbors and community, the first few weeks would have been even more difficult. 

As a result of our experience, Spence and I began the Wagner Family Fire Fund to offer relief and assistance to families who lose their homes to a fire.  For us, there was no guide book clearly explaining what to expect and how things should be documented.  But now, with our experience behind us, we believe we can offer those who lose their homes to fire some help and that sense of community that we were so lucky to have.