Longest 30 minutes I have had in many years…
Life was winding down for the evening. I was basically at the end of my day and getting ready for an evening of reading or something. Had been busy all day at TRV and was tired. Then a phone call from Svetochka and she said Father Pavel had asked, “Was there a fire near our home?” He had been called by the fish guys across the way and they saw smoke…
I ran outside and looked around, nothing, the homes in sight were okay. Then I saw a hundred or so baby birds flying to beat the band down the hill past our home. Ravens whom always sit on the bell tower, were screaming as they beeline toward the forest. Then around the back of the barn I walked and looked up the hill…
Smoke filling the sky was visible. I grabbed my hoe and told Svetochka that I have to go, The place (Bell Tower) is on fire…
Something had sparked at the transformer area and a fire broke out? That thought upsets me right now, how it happened is the question and how can it be solved to not happen again? But at that moment I was the only one and thing in between a yellow home near by and to stop it from burning down…
30 minutes I kept the fire from spreading too fast. Then help arrived. I was actually impressed at the response time. We are way out in the boonies, and that is actually a very impressive response for this area…
It was the longest 30 minutes I have experienced since days far gone. It was battle to keep the fire away from a huge brush pile, because if that went up we would loose several homes and I would loose the war. I did not know who and what would show and I just ate smoke, turned myself black from that smoke and got into a pattern of extinguishing the fire. I started with the brush pile area, that was the most vital and I kept having to go back to it to stop the spreading. That was a leaf and brush filled mess…
I had a hundred meters of vital fire line that I had been able to get 50 meters put out. I was back in the ditch with a ton of leaves and brush and found myself starting to get sick and faltering against this onslaught. The worst thing was that I was alone. It felt very alone and yet I knew I was not. The smoke cleared a second and I got some fresh air and could see the bell tower. Someone/something said in my mind, “It will be okay, keep going!” I saw that the fire was okay at that direction and knew that I had no fear from a bell tower like that burning. So I stayed in the ditch and got it to where I could leave it a few minutes…
I literally crawled out of the ditch and saw another brush pile getting ready to start on fire and a huge apple tree next to it. Once that started, I would be in trouble. So I ran to the farthest spot and stopped the fire from spreading there. I could not breath very well, for I was deep into the burn area and started to have doubts. Lonely does that…
Then, I heard that wail and the roar…
The Calvary was coming, Father Pavel had called the fire department and I knew we had it at this point. So I kept my pattern of extinguishing the fire going. Yet, I had to run back 50 meters and get a look at the ditch. when you are old and grouchy 50 meters is a long ways to run. I stopped it once more at the ditch area, yet that was the big issue and as I crawled out of the ditch again, the guys were pulling the hoses out of the truck and setting up. The Fish Pond owner was there helping. I had seen him come up the hill earlier when I first started to fight the fire…
I hollered and pointed at the ditch and the fireman had seen me crawl out of it and he hit that first. Thank goodness, that took a bunch of pressure off me and for some reason I went back to stopping the fire. I mainly felt I had to stop the spread toward the yellow home and the vast field of grass. So while I kept the fire line on my side stifled, they put the far side out and then I realized, as if someone gently told me, “You are done!”
Father Pavel then came up behind me and we exchanged words and he went to see what was going on with the fire department. I got out of the way, I was not needed now. I was glad to not be alone right then…
I later went to the church and talked with Father Pavel for a bit and everything calmed down, It was a good talk and he had some wonderful mineral water that I drank three huge cups of. Cold and delicious…
Then I walked home and was thinking about what happened and one of my questions was answered by God right then. Why it was so important to do what I did. I thought about the baby birds and ravens that I saw flying downhill at our home by the hundreds and that is why I looked uphill. Then…
I noticed something moving the grass, not 50 meters from where I had been fighting the fire. I was on the road and I put down my stuff I carried and got out the phone. I knew what it was, slow and steady it came…
I then realized that God sent me a gift, to show me what I was trying to save. The little guy was slow and could never had gotten away from the flames and he would easily have died. I stood careful and did not move and I knew he smelled me, but decided to keep coming after sniffing the air near near me. He can’t see well and never saw me, but I saw him and took his video. I did not ask permission and I hope he is okay with that?
I knew then why I did what I did. They need our help at times and this was one of those times. The baby birds can fly away, but a little guy like this cannot get away…
This morning, it was hard to get up, sore all over and had to cough out a bunch of gunk from my throat. The smoke is the hardest part. I was black as I had cleaned up last night, the fire and smoke ruined my pants. The smoke had gone up the pants legs inside and all the hair on my lower legs was burned off. Never noticed while it happened. But after I had cleaned off the black and found my baby smooth legs were okay, I finally fell asleep last night. Adrenaline does that, so it took awhile to fall asleep…
This morning, I am so thankful that I took the video and I left him alone and did not bother him as he had found something good to dig up near a pine root. I decided that farther trying to take a video was not necessary. I left the little guy alone…
It is God’s little creatures that we should embrace and worry about. I really do think that God sent this guy along at the right moment to give me a message, “That we all matter and we all deserve to be able to eat, drink and be merry and not worry about a fire burning your butt as you try to run away!”
I listened to whom I call the baby birds and the mouthy ravens and it really is all a symphony to the ears. Gods symphony. We should care it is beautiful…
It was only 30 minutes that I was battling the blaze alone, yet I knew in those 30 minutes that we would have lost two homes at that point. (Once the ditch flamed out, there would have been no way I could have fought the fire then.) No one lives there in these two homes, but the people still show up and spend a few weeks a year there. Yes, it was a very long 30 minutes for me and I am sure that many little creatures felt the same…
Just another day in The Tiny Russian Village…
WtR