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Some of you know that my oldest son (age 23) was living in an apartment building that caught fire Friday, June 28. It was a horrible night, but out of every horrible thing that happens, so much good comes as a result. I made some thank you cards for the wonderful people who gave to my son.
This is what we saw when we arrived Friday night. Two aerial ladders were extended attacking the fire. It was a 2 Alarm Fire and they battled the blaze for 3 hours.
Kramer's apartment was in the lower level the opposite side of the building from where the fire started. He moved in June 1 and of course did not listen to us about getting renter's insurance BEFORE he moved in. It was on the to-do list, but not done....
More pictures are included at the end of the post if you are interested. Now back to the card:
I got the Thanks ribbon card image from the Silhouette Store. The fire charms also came from the Silhouette Store. I made a circle all by myself!!!
Here is my screen shot. I needed a place for him to write, so I added the circle and adhered it to the inside of the card behind "Thanks".
I trimmed off the charm circle and used the fire truck as an embellishment.
I tied the fire hydrant to the front hole of the card with twine. I looped the twine through the back two holes and tied a bow.
I tied the fire hydrant backwards so it did not cover up much of the word.
This was the most creative my brain let me be!!!!
I am linking this up at
Pink Cricut today! Sarah featured my Subway Art project from last week - EEK!!!
This is the end of the building where Kramer lived. He was on the lower level on the right side in this photo. You can see the roof is gone!
His bedroom window is the bottom window, second from the left.
This is the opposite end of the building where the fire began on the second floor balcony. Rumor is it was a grill or cigarette. ****Confirmed that a cigarette left in a flower pot was the cause, news store
HERE. The lady who lived here (did not know at the time it was her apartment) told me she was in bed and her cats came and woke her up. Ummmm not many people start their grill and go to bed - just sayin'!!
This is just around the corner from where the fire started. The fire went straight up to the roof and attic. It was a good thing that the roof collapsed because several pets were trapped inside and that allowed most of the smoke to rise up into the sky. Many pets were rescued the next day. I heard that one cat and one dog did not make it.
We could not get inside the building until Monday. Kramer had no idea if anything would be salvageable. He was told Friday night that there was about 3 feet of water in his apartment.
We got a 30 minute time slot Monday so we got two trucks and lots of help!!
Some of Tyler's baseball teammates came to help. Sam (in blue shirt) is going to college to learn about fire protection. His dad and uncle are firemen. Chis is our Eagle Scout of the Year and saved a friend from drowning a few years ago. He is our center fielder. Tegan is one of our pitchers and will go to college to earn his sports medicine degree. Tyler is our catcher and is going to college to study engineering. All four of these young men will play baseball in college - very proud of them already and grateful for their help.
Bonus - you can see my mother-in-law decked out in her boots ready for action!!!
Tanner is helping scoot the bags of wet items to the back of the truck. He is disappointed that he can not go in the building.
We got out so much!!! Kramer got his brand new coffee table and desk out.
Here is the update I sent out yesterday. As I re-read this I realized my math was off. We had over an hour in the building!!
I also want to thank the numerous facebook and blog friends who reached out to me with offers of prayers, furniture, etc. I am feeling very blessed that people I only know online want to help!!
- Conversation started today
Lori Johnson Apgar
Today was a long day!!! A good day though. We got to the apartment complex around 11:30. Kramer and Aaron were assigned a 30 minute time slot of 12:30 - 1:00 to get in their apartment and get what they could in that time. Only 2 people were allowed in at a time.
Because we were early and they were either ahead of schedule or someone did not show, we got in around 11:45. Kramer and Tyler got two trips in before Aaron and his dad were both there. Then they got a turn. As two people came out, the hard hats were passed and the other two went in. The next group showed up at 1:00 so we had about 45 minutes!!
Kramer got all of his personal items (cash, passport, gift cards, home run baseball, trophy, glasses) as well as all of his expensive dress shirts and dress clothes. He got his snow boards, bindings and boots, all of his clothes, all of his video games still in their plastic cases. They brought out his brand new coffee table and desk - and they look pretty good. They got out the dishes.
Kramer did not get his love sack, mattress, tv (not brand new), dresser (not new) and computer (new) - although he may go back to get the computer and see. It was sitting under the desk on the floor plugged in and his apartment had 3 feet of water at one point in it.
We did not expect to recover those items as we knew there was standing water in the apartment Friday night.
When he went to cox to cancel his service (he was within the 30 day trial period) they said they needed the box. He went back and they let him in to grab it. They also pro-rated his bill to end Friday.
I would say he is in a much better position than I thought he would be in. His books, cash and passport are drying out. Mari is sorting, washing, folding and sorting again his laundry. We have cleaned his furniture and will store it.
He is going to take this time to re-group. He has a bed to sleep in and clothes to wear. We are very grateful!
Before he left today, they handed him a check for his deposit along with 3 days of June's rent returned.
The Red Cross called today to see if he needed clothes vouchers or furniture vouchers and he thanked them and said to give it to someone who needed it more than he did. They let him know of a church garage sale this weekend that would give furniture and household goods to those who lost their apartments. We were told he could go to Family Services. Many people donated items to the apartment clubhouse. It was amazing to see such support.
I think Kramer will be getting renters insurance BEFORE his next apartment!!!
Best quote of the day was when the guy with the clipboard at the door was criticizing Aaron's dad and told him to empty and re-use the tubs so you don't waste time and he said "This IS my first fire, you know." We have found a lot of humor this weekend, and we have found a lot of things to be thankful for.
Grateful that Kramer and Aaron were both at work when the fire broke out.
Grateful for the man who ran through the building knocking on doors and walls and using the fire extinguisher to get people and pets out. He lived in a nearby building.
Grateful for Omaha and Papillion firefighters who spend all night at the apartment complex protecting Kramer's apartment.
Grateful for Mike's parents, Tyler's friends and Aunt Chris and Uncle David for helping haul stuff out and drive it home.
Grateful for the generosity of Kramer's co-workers.
This fire could have been so much worse - so grateful that it was not!!!!
