Major Fire :(

[ShreddedOakAviary]

I am a dissabled Army vet (I get around fine and do chores, I don't want you thinking I'm too broken to properly care for our birds). Anyway I can't work full time so I breed 16 pairs of birds. They all have names and most of them are quite tame still and I really do love them all. In April of 2010 our barn caught fire (and we live 7 miles from pavement) the fire dept took 18min to arrive. We evacuated all the birds we could get to.... We have about 40 birds... We were never able to save the the greys... we couldn't get to them.... I watched smoke billow from the windows of their room.... Seven greys were lost RIP my beloved Dora, Cagney, Lucy, Bennet, Darcy, George, and Wheezie. The fire burned the barn, the aviary, the house, and both of my cars. I will never forget, and I hold it against myself because I could have gotten them out if I hadn't panicked so much early on during the fire. God bless my rural neighbors and mostly my husbdand for his quick thinking and reactions to hose the aviary while we all pulled birds out BEFORE the aviary had caught fire. You guys will never be forgotten. It's been over a year now... our house is rebuilt, and our new aviary is almost finished. But that day will always haunt me.

 

[antoinette]

Sorry for your loss, it must have been very sad and traumatizing.
Thank God you were all safe, it could have been a lots worse. Things happen for a reason, we don't always understand.
You have got wonderful memories of your birds, never to be forgotten.
Take care
Antoinette

 

[mtdoramike]

First off, THANK YOU, for your service to our country and willing to make the ultimate sacrafice to keep us safe. It was a shame to read your story of the fire that ravaged your home. God bless you and hope that things work out better for you in the future.

Again, thank you very much,
Mike

 

[Atwee921]

Thats horrible :/
At least your safe, like ann said, it could have been worse...

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

It could have been much worse.... I am gonna open a photo album to show some. Of the damage and then the repairs we've done or are doing. My husband was hospitalized for smoke inhalation (he would not leave the goffins ) That night when he came to where we were staying he was still in his pj's and barefoot (as he had been during the fire), he looked so defeated... so I walked him into where the surviving birds were being housed and then I thanked him for being mine and their savoir. He held Moe a while and he seemed calm again. I think at that moment we knew things would be okay.

 

[oled]

I am so sorry the read this, hope everything will work out fin for all of you!!

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

I think I mostly just miss hearing the greys. Dora was our first bird together. Cagney came from a guy in TN and he (the bird) had the thickest southern accent you could ever imagine... and Bennet and Darcy I had just gotten them fully feathered. And George and Wheezie used to howl like wolves and say "ouch" lol. Things are fine now... were able to gut and rebuild the house, we put up a new better aviary, and our barn will be done here soon. It's amazing how fast we physically recovered, but occasionally I can't help but just feel sick over the loss of my babies.... They buired in pairs with headstones at the nothwest corner of my property. It looks morbid to have four little headstones there, but they deserve to be remembered.

 

[Spiritbird]

Such a tragedy. We all feel for you and want to share this loss. Starting over is all anyone can do. We wish you all the best in beginning anew.

 

[merlinsmom13]

So sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how you must feel. Your babies would want you to forgive yourself & have a good life. You have reminded me to make a escape plan in case something happens like this to us. God bless.

 

[wuvzbirdies]

I second Mike; my hat goes off to you. While I am not an American, I am a neighboring Canadian and I respect and appreciate you just the same for your service to protect your country.

Ok this hits home, I think I’ve been sitting here for a good hour trying to figure out what to post to your horrific experience. I know all too well how you feel, I lost my Grey Russell this past Christmas due to a fire on my floor in my apartment building and still to this day I feel a tinge of guilt although I know it was not my fault, I can’t get it out of my head “what if, just if I was home that day I may still have him with me”. Bless you and your Husband for loving these birds while they were here on earth, I’m sure Russell is showing them the ropes up there :21:

RIP Dora, Cagney, Lucy, Bennet, Darcy, George, and Wheezie

 

[Mayden]

I don't know why I come to this part of the forums as I just end up crying.

You gave you birds a fantastic life, caring for them and obviously loving them so much.
I'm so so sorry for your loss and I really do empathize.

I lost my baby girl to her second stroke within 2 weeks, I could have prevented her death but I didn't and it still tears me up.

I don't think you'll ever get over this but please take solace in the fact that you were a wonderful owner to those birds and you still are to those you have now.

xoxox