One of "Those" Phone Calls

When the phone rings, you never know what to expect.  Most of the time, it's a friendly chit-chat, but there is always that one phone call that catches you off-guard.  Cody and I had one of "those" phone calls, this afternoon. 

Our dear friend Jason phoned just after a quiet and enjoyable lunch, and the look on Cody's face told me something was different about this call.  Cody put the call on speakerphone, and Jason told us about the adventure Dawn and he had Friday evening.

Jason and Dawn left Jason's home to go eat a late supper around 7:30 p.m.  Jason is a pediatrician, and so he has a phone service.  Being on-call this weekend, it was not surprising that the service called while they were at the restaurant.  However, the conversation was a first, and hopefully won't ever be repeated.  At 8:45 p.m., the service secretary said, "Dr. Jason, one of your neighbors is on the phone calling to say your house is on fire.  Would you like to talk with her?" 

Well, yeah, and after a brief conversation with the neighbor, Jason and Dawn left the restaurant and headed home.  Only, they had to park at the end of the street, because there were 42 firemen in 12 firetrucks, including two hook-and-ladder units, and a Salvation Army truck tending to two injured firemen parked up and down their street.  Jason's 15 year old hot tub's wiring suddenly sparked a fire, disintegrating the hot tub, surrounding decking, yard, and jumped the fence to the neighbor's yard and back part of their house.

The hot tub was located at the end of the deck at the back of the house.  Jason's back doors, a couple of windows, an electrical circuit in the garage, and the t.v. cable were damaged from the heat, but that was the extent of the damage at Jason's home (even the Green Egg survived).  Their neighbor's home, however, was partially burned, but fortunately, the homeowner was not home and had no pets.  Jason has a lab named Corona, who is crate-kept whenever they leave the house.  Corona's crate is at the back door, and when Jason and Dawn were putting Corona up before they left, they saw nothing wrong with the hot tub or the deck. 

We love our friends, and after getting over the initial shock of what happened and what might have been, Cody and I have thanked the Lord often that no one and no animal was hurt, and we all know everything damaged can be replaced.  Jason and Dawn are okay, and Jason's house is structurally sound and smoke-free.  Besides, Jason was planning on getting rid of the hot tub, anyway; it just happened much differently than planned.