Monday 5 March 2018

Smoke and Fire - A Year On.

Timehop is great! It reminds you of the good, the bad and the downright ugly. When my Timehop popped up the other day I was reminded that this time last year was pretty damn crap. Not only were we having medical appointment after appointment for Elarna and her neck (which then led on to an operation) but had the fire in our house. If you have no idea what fire I'm going on about have a little read of my 'smoke and fire' post which will explain everything. It really is hard to believe this was a year ago, still to this day I am quite traumatised by it and I don't think I'll ever get over my fire paranoia I have to say. 

We lost alot of stuff you know. Of course this was all immaterial as most of it was replaceable but it is still not nice knowing what happened and just how bad it could have been if I hadn't shut the door..... Of course after the fire we decided to redecorate most of the house and replace many curtains and *blinds to try and breathe some new life into the house and take away the smoky smell which did wonders but it's taken us a long time to get the house back to what it should be. Although, you would never know what happened in the room if you went in now, but there are still reminders. The charred books we managed to salvage, the games singed on the sides, my babies red books, pages still charcoal covered, the birth certificates and baby scans that we so very nearly lost still  all with the scent of smoke. It acts as a constant reminder. So as we have reached the one year anniversary I felt it would be great to write a post about how the fire has made me think differently about things and what I have changed on a day to day basis. Please read on!



  • First and foremost and probably THE most important thing that I hope you can take away with you today is to check your smoke alarms. NO excuses. Without ours things may have been very, very different this year. So please, get up, stop whatever you are doing and go and check your smoke alarms. I regularly check ours, my husband will confirm......usually around teatime so I know they work well! However, in all seriousness I urge you to make sure your alarm works and has functioning batteries. It could save your life. 

  • Whenever I use something electric once finished I often check two or three times that it is actually off. It is probably a little obsessive but I need to know it's off. If we're going away for the weekend I also make sure most electric things are switched on via the plug which I didn't do before. It is so easy to forget to switch things off and considering it's as simple as switching a button I find I make it a habit now so I remember. 

  • Everyday I remember the way I felt when I discovered the fire. The shock, the shaking and disbelief. Not just me, it's clearly affected Elarna as every time she hears the smoke alarm or anything similar she shakes, runs to one of us for a cuddle and quite often cries. Poor little love. For these reasons I find I try and see a positive in each day no matter how rubbish the day. If that fails a smile from the kids often reminds me how lucky we are.

  • Make memories. I bang on about this alot but I want to fill my kids heads with good memories, although we talk about the fire we try not to dwell on it. I instead try and arrange lots of things for the kids to look forward to like holidays, days out and experience's. 

  • I try not to be too anxious about things but I do think it has made me more of a worrier and affected my anxiety levels. I worried lots before but I do more so now, for example if I leave the house I constantly question did I turn off my straighteners, lock the door, turn the oven off etc, etc. I can't really help that but at least it makes me more aware of things I guess.

  • Overall, it's just made me so much more appreciative about the simple things in life. The sun, health, happiness, what we have and on a day to day basis simple things like being able to provide for our children and have things like fresh water, food and being able to give them with the life they have.
As mentioned above, if you take anything anyway from this post then please check your smoke alarms! You just never can predict the future so take each day as it comes and cherish the moment. 

17 comments:

  1. Goodness. It sounds awful. A year is not long. I'm so glad you are finding the positives. I'm off to check my fire alarms right now.#MMBC

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  2. I am terrified of fire. As a child I lived next door to a house that had a massive fire and I can still see the curtains alight when I close my eyes and smell the smoke afterwards and this happened over 40 years ago! I'm just glad you were all safe. I know my alarms are working, my husband had bacon for breakfast yesterday morning.
    #mmbc

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  3. I can't believe it's been a year already. Fire is one of my biggest fears, mainly because you could lose everything. Being burgled would be terrible but they tend not to take sentimental things. I hope Elarna soon forgets about it so she doesn't develop a fear. Being married to a fireman I'd like to think we're fairly safety conscious! #bestandworst xx

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  4. It's amazing how quickly time passes as I remember reading your post about this a year ago and being so pleased you were all okay. Good that you've been able to find positives from the whole experience. (Note to self, check smoke alarms when I get home)

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  5. Oh gosh, this would have been very scary to experience! I'm glad you didn't lose too much, but it's still very upsetting. I think it's definitely important to appreciate the little things in life - and check your smoke alarms! #bloggersbest

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  6. I can imagine how traumatic that fire incident must have been. So glad to know that you were all okay. And thank you for the reminder to check our smoke alarms

    #bloggersbest

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  7. Aw I remember this day hun and thinkin I had seen someone else's photo! I bet it has made you live a little differently and I also check my straighteners now, so many times. Hugs xx

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  8. I cannot believe it's been a year! I'm not surprised you're all still a little shaken. Hurrah for smoke alarms #bloggersbest

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  9. What an ordeal, must be really tough especially when you have reminds that revoke the trauma, hugs X #bloggersbest

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  10. Oh goodness Helen that must've been so scary. I check our fire alarms regularly, and we keep all our doors shut too!
    #bloggersbest

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  11. Oh wow... this is one of my biggest fears. I completely understand why you would still be paranoid about it. Great post though, made realise I haven't checked all of my alarms and electrics for a while. x

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  12. I can only imagine the paranoia that you all now experience. Going through something like that could have quite a traumatic effect, but if you look for the silver lining, you have learned to appreciate the little things and take special care to stay positive and make some wonderful memories. It sounds like you're doing a wonderful job of moving forward and up from last year!
    #BloggersBest

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  13. Way to be strong for your baby!
    #bloggersbest
    Katelynn, hampersandhiccups.com

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  14. How awful Helen. Smoke alarms are a bloody life saver. Most importantly nobody was hurt! Sending hugs lovely :)

    Thanks for sharing with #MMBC x

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  15. Yes I love and hate Timehop too - it can remind you of things you'd rather forget! This is terrifying, glad everyone was ok but must have been awful for you all x #bloggersbest

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  16. We live on the 4th floor of a block of flats so the issue of fire is often on my mind as we wouldn't be able to jump out of the windows - we have a smoke alarm connected to the mains electricity rather than a battery so it's always on #bloggersbest

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  17. I agree it is best to focus on happy memories and not value possessions too much. Fire is so scary and destructive but thankfully you were all safe #bloggersbest

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