Hero worship.......

I was surprised to see on the news tonight that parts of Nelson had had so much rain that the banks of some rivers had burst and there was some pretty serious flooding in the region. On this side of town we had a wet and grey day, but nothing that seemed too bad. The worst it got for me was keeping me indoors all day and me ending up this evening with no blip........

But my, how quickly things can change...........!

I'd put a good sized log on the fire about 10 minutes beforehand then I noticed smoke coming from above the mantle piece - definitely not normal. I began to investigate but before I got very far there was a knock at the front door.........and just as I answered the door the smoke alarm started screaming.........

Some passers-by had noticed my chimney on fire so stopped and came to tell me. And it really was on fire - flames, smoke and sparks galore :(

Between these accidental heroes and me we managed to douse the fire in the fireplace, call the fire brigade, check for signs of burning upstairs and get the garden hose onto the chimney.

Then the firemen arrived with full sirens, lights, hoses and breathing apparatus! It was looking like a pretty serious fire and I was, I admit, beginning to panic a little. But amidst all the smoke, sparks and drips these guys just quietly got on with doing what needed to be done. They calmly assessed things, hoisted the ladder, unreeled their hose, checked upstairs and answered what must have seemed to them like my stupid questions.

And as they got on with it I got out my camera........

After they'd done I explained that I post a pic a day to this site and, having taken nothing all day, I'd been wondering what I'd post today when they turned up! They reluctantly agreed to pose for a few shots after all the packing up was done - true heroes who saved my day in more than one way :)

Their efforts are all the more special because, if you look carefully to the right of the shot, you may just be able to make out the words painted on the side of their truck: "Volunteers since 1946" Yup - the local fire service is run on volunteer power.

They truly have been my heroes today :)