You are not going to believe this one.
To start with, I wanted to give you a picture of the house next door, but I was hard-pressed to find one because it is so ugly. I guess I was trying to ignore the fact that it was even there - this is the best I could do, a picture from before I even bought the place. It was an old house turned apartment building - really seedy and catering to some really creepy clientele. It was for sale using the same Realtor that handled my house. Remember a few posts back, the nice yellow curtains I put up to cover the view?
Well, last night at about 6:30pm, the view dramatically improved. No one was home, no one was hurt. So I can gloat - I'm pretty sure the whole neighborhood is - dare I say happy? - about the whole thing. I happened to see this picture on the news before I went to bed last night and thought "hmm, wonder if that house was anywhere near mine". This morning I had a missed call from that very Realtor, (I was so pooped last night I didn't hear the phone ring) and I thought "Oh Crap." It took about thirty minutes of local news surfing before I found it - but there it was, the Misty Shores apartment building going up in flames. I got a hold of Marilyn and she gave me the whole story - bottom line she said my house was fine: good thing I hadn't had the asbestos siding removed yet! She said I might want to have the siding cleaned because of the soot but I couldn't care less, it's all coming off eventually anyway. My jaw was on the floor. Thank God I didn't get that call last night or I wouldn't have gotten any sleep at all and would probably have rushed over there and spent the night with a bunch of sweaty dirty neighbors wringing their hands. Slept through the whole thing.
And here's the kicker: I had given my son Steven permission to stay in my house last night with a couple of his friends, in exchange for a couple of hours of work today. Something came up and the sleepover was canceled at the last minute.
Here's an excerpt from a news article this morning, complete with a picture of a rescued dog getting oxygen (I love firemen):
A 77-year-old home, converted into a mini apartment complex, was extensively damaged by a fire Friday, authorities said. No one was in the apartments, however, a dog was rescued from an apartment and was OK, authorities said.
The fire, reported at 6:38 p.m., appears to have started in a back staircase and spread to eaves and into the attic. Firefighters fought the fire for more than 1 1/2 hours from a fire tower that spewed water on the roof of the building where flames shot out and creamy smoke rose skyward. Firefighters tried to enter the building when they arrived, but had to exit because the fire was already overhead. Evidence at the scene indicates the fire was deliberately set and the State Fire Marshal's Office was called in to investigate.
It looks like I will have an empty lot next door, and once someone buys it, a nice single-family home built within all the City's lovely historic neighborhood requirements. I'm going to go out tonight and celebrate - I am loving this project more every day!!
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