Fire

On Saturday, I was home alone (Carol was at the church for youth). I went on the balcony to enjoy the view and happended to see a FIRE in the distance. As I watched, the fire spread quickly. I realized, I dont know the emergency number here. I dont know my street address. I dont know what to do! The tall grasses seemed to bloom with fire. In five minutes the fire had crawled its way up the long row of fences and walls.

After climbing upward on the hill near my apartment, it started to spread outward. I watched as a lapa caught fire. The thatch roofed structure looked like an enormous fire ball. The house nearby was in danger because of the flames. The people in the house tried to put out the fire with their water hose. But because of the size of the flames, they couldn't get close. Thankfully, the lapa burned itself out before the house caught fire.

(In this picture, the fire is over the fence of the nature reserve, but not yet inside my fence.)

As I looked up the hill beside my apartment complex, I realized that there was nothing to stop the flames. They would quickly spread toward me and the nature reserve directly behind me. I felt safe because there was enough pavement and brick to prevent the fire from coming close to the apartment. And the tall grasses seemed to burn out quite fast. But I was very concerned about the nature reserve. There was no way for me to help. The fire was on the other side of my electric fence and I had no water hose or courage to help the situation.

As I looked up the power lines to see the flames move closer to the nature reserve, I saw a man beating the flames with his shirt. He had jumped the low fence of the nature reserve and was trying to keep the flames back. Considering the long and wide the fire was spread, there was no way he was going to stop this fire. I marveled at his determination. I think he was working hard in hopes that the fire department would show up and take over. And he was right. Just as he was overwhelmed and exhausted and about to give up, just as the fire was about to reach the nature reserve, the firemen showed up. They allowed the fire to jump the fence of the nature reserve, but made some lines further back that prevented wide spread fire damage.

Closer to the apartment, there was some fire damage. The fire began to jump our fence. Although it probably wouldnt have damaged the buildling, we werent willing to wait and see. A very clever neighbor pulled the emergency fire hose out of the stairwell and over the top wall. Three men worked together to spray the fire and keep it from invading our personal space.

Many of the South Africans were not surprised or alarmed. Apparently grass fires are common this time of year. They might be common for the South Africans, but they aren't common for me!! I was a little stressed and worried. That was enough excitement for one weekend! But God was good. This happened on a Saturday when people were home to call the fire department. He prevented any real damage to people and property. This could have been so much worse. AND after an hour and a half of excitement, I gave in to the need for a nap! It was a GREAT nap!