Fire

This is the second time we grabbed the fire extinguishers and immediately rushed out of the school since these few month. The recent one happened yesterday....

Nearly 4:15pm, in the office, we heard the cries of girl... found out that our students' house is on fire. This family sent all 4 of their children to study in this school. While contacting the principal, we rushed out with another 2 teenagers stayed in school to their house.

On the way, stuck in the traffic jam, from far, we saw the thick smoke coming out from their house's direction. In my heart, Oh God, there must be a serious condition by looking at the smoke. Please Lord, send the rain now.... In Phnom Penh, we are having problem with water supplied for fire engines. There is not fire hydrant elsewhere and the fire engines have to go forth n back to refill the water. This caused delay to the rescueing process. Furthermore, most of the cambodia houses are connected so closed to each other, and made of wood... Lord, pls protect your children over there, protect their safety and their property....

When we reached their house, we have to parked the car at the main road (the road into that area was closed by police). Holding the fire extinguishers, we managed to get the motortaxi to drive us in.... looking at the fire, we found the fire extinguishers useless...

We have two student families there, one is four houses away from the house which was on fire now n separated by a small road, the other is on the same row, 3 houses away. The rest of the time, was packing and evacuating all the things in our students' house, including bed, clothes, furniture... wahtever that we can take away to their neighbour's house at the other side of the area. Running forth n back, feeling the heat of the fire, seeing firemen tried their best to stop the fire from spreading to the next house, looking at the thick smoke coming out from the house, heard people crying, help to spray water on the roof to reduce the heat....

Lastly, when the night came, the fire almost stopped in that house., didn't spread out to the neghbouring area. Oh, thank God. He didn't send the rain, but with another way, He spared His children's property there....

These two families stayed out of the house that night to safeguard on the remainding small fire in the burning house. But everyone seemed released and waiting to put the things back in their house on the next morning. We saw tears of joy from their eyes and the shout of praising god from their mouths. The house on fire is a warehouse selling gas and paint. Praise the Lord that He kept the fire in...

This is our first experience to be so closed to the fire... sk was even captured (for few seconds) in a local TV news snapshot (when he was spraying water on to the roof)...

Praise the Lord... We witness Your faithfulness to Your people, Lord!