Well this just sucks...
Got home this evening thinking that I would be spending a quiet rest of night with the Mrs...but I guess not.
Electrical fires will do that...
First, apologies for the short intro...I'm on limited power, since only half of the house has lights right now.
Got home about 9 pm (Chicago time), and found smoke hovering below the ceiling. Went and grabbed a ladder and looked in the attic (big mistake), and got hit in the face by a wall of smoke. After a very intense fit of coughing, the wife called 911, and out the door we went (my, the wife, my two daughters, and the pooties)
Fortunately, everyone is safe -- but the house is uninhabitable. The ceiling in the kitchen doesn't exist anymore, and the bedrooms and main bathroom have no power (there is, however, still heat and lights -- that way I still have an excuse to watch Keith Olberman). But the house smells like a pit barbeque.
Insurance will cover damage (minus any deductible), but we're effectively out of a home. The FD didn't have to cut any holes in the roof, but the tore the hell out of our soffett vents to clear the smoke out of the attic -- all told, I'd estimate there's a good 20,000 in damage just to the kitchen alone.
The important thing is that the family is safe - and not having to stay out in the cold.
I would ask the community for prayers for myself, and my family.
This is not how I wanted to spend my Christmas -- but we are alive. Thank God for that.
Update 1 -- 11:25pm : Still at the house, waiting for the adjuster to call. Once that happens, the only ones left in the house will be the cats (in the bathroom, since there's way too much insulation in the house that got pulled down to tamp out the fire in the attic). Heat is still on, and lights are on for half of the house. I'll probably be out of here before midnight central, so I'll check back when I can.
To everyone who's offered to help, I can't thank you enough.
Update 2 -- 1140pm: OK, all...signing off for the night. I'm gonna bail and go check on the rest of the family.