updated: i woke up around 1:30 ish in the morning because i heard shouting and then loud popping sounds. there is a bad situation with the neighbor so i walked out the front door to see what was happening and the house across the street and a little north was on fire.

the family was fine. the firefighters evacuated the houses next door; one of which had good friends of my aunts. their 5 kids were all in pjs, their teenage boy just in boxer shorts. so my aunt and i brought all the kids back and got them sweatshirts, sweatpants, flip flops, etc.

the unfortunate thing is the wife of the house that burned said it took around 20 minutes for the firefighters to get there. so by the time they did the fire had already entered the house and burned through to the front.

anyway. everyone is fine and the couple whose house it is seem to be ok. i'm glad that my parents always said we'd meet by the mail box if there was a fire. it's a wee bit reassuring.