In which I tell you about the fire

We had a fire in Winding River Village today.  We're all fine; it wasn't in our building.  It was the building next to ours.  I was at work and received a frantic call from my wife to come home.  I rushed home and we spent the next three hours watching the efforts of the Sandy Springs FD.  They did a great job and contained a fairly nasty fire to just one building.  It was a very emotional experience for all of us.  It wasn't our building, but it was still part of our home.  We all tried to pitch in; Steven actually went into the building before the fire spread and helped some others bang on doors and roust all the residents out.  Darlene and the girls helped guide people out of the immediate area and I gave inspiration and hope just though my comforting presence.  No, not really.  I went back and forth between the parking lot and the rally point the condo board set up in the clubhouse and tried to keep everyone in our area of the parking lot informed about what was going on.  No people were hurt as far as I know.  A couple of cats are still missing, but everyone else is present and accounted for.  Steven got to talk to a couple of news crews, so he was feeling like the shizzle before he passed out asleep on the bed.  We haven't seen him on TV yet, but if we do maybe I can get a video posted.  I want my blog to be all multimedia and stuff like Rake's.

Anyway, we tried to end the evening in a normal way with a little trick or treating and a trip to McDonald's (the McRib is back! Whoo!).  Right now we're all exhausted--the kids are long since in bed, the wife is probably asleep on the couch, and I'm soon to bed after I get done with this post.  For those with concern, we're fine.  Shaken, stirred, and emotionally worn, but fine.  We're all safe and we still have a home.  That's what matters.

Here are some pics (taken with my camera phone) of the fire, the SSFD in action, and Steven the media hound.

edited a few minutes later: We just saw a report on Channel 2. No sign of Steven's interview, but there was a quick shot of the twins in one of the crowd pans. Pretty cool, if it wasn't such a tragic situation. 12 families out of their homes. Trick or treat, indeed. Not the kind of trick I like.