Living in Israel one gets used to unusual things happening.
Early this morning as I arrived at work, I walked to the window to look out over the valley. Even in winter the scenery is constantly changing~sometimes a new flower, or even a herd of sheep and goats passing down the fire road at the bottom of the property.
As I gazed out I saw huge orange flames shooting up from the bottom of the yard~Fire!
Not sure I was seeing correctly I looked again and raced downstairs to Meridel.
* We were the only ones in at the time!
"Meridel", I asked, "are you burning something outside?"
"Of course not!" ...was her reply
We had a fire! We flew outside to find the hoses.
For reasons unknown to us, when we turned the tap on a small dribble was all that came out. Much fussing and straightening of the hoses did little to bring change.
While Meridel grappled with the hose, I grabbed a bucket and began running back and forth. Bucket after bucket brought a slowing of the flames.
A neighbour dog-walker came by and said he would call the fire department.
By the time the fire truck arrived, our dribbling hoses and buckets of water had taken some effect~there was now more smoke than flame.
Nevertheless, the fire department hooked up their hose to to douse it; completely putting it out. Then they had to open up the area, soaking the section where the flames had been concentrated.
The real danger was across the road. The entire area opens onto dunams of dry grass and trees. If the flames had crossed over, or the wind had blown a spark there could have created a terrible incident.
In short order we were back inside, slightly damp and stinking of smoke. We lamented that we forgot to take a picture until it was all over. Honestly, the flames did look very dramatic!
We did not, however, forget to thank God that we were alerted to the flames and were able to control them until the fire department arrived!
So, now I wonder if I can add, "small fire" fighter to my CV!
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