I feel so bad for my neighbor.
He is an elderly man, and he just lost his house.
It burned down. I guess his fireplace caught his house on fire while he was sleeping. He told me that he didn’t usually take a nap during the day, but he was extra tired that day, so he went to lie down. Apparently, a piece of wood that he had put in his fireplace fell out onto the carpet. It caught the carpet on fire and spread throughout his entire downstairs area. Thankfully, he was woken up by the smell of the smoke. He was able to get out in time. He lost almost everything in the downstairs of his house. I told him that he could stay with me for as long as he needs to. I have a spare bedroom that he is using. He plans to rebuild his house. He has lived there for over forty years, and he does not want to relocate. It was the only house that he and his wife lived in together. He said that he will not be adding a fireplace to his new house though. He is super nervous about it now. I totally understand, of course. He said that he has never lived in a house without a fireplace, so it will be weird at first, but he just doesn’t want to risk catching it on fire again. He is thinking about maybe using an electric fireplace instead. I told him that would be a great option. I am super thankful that he is safe and is able to rebuild on his land.