Monday the smell of smoke permeated my clothing and hair after helping cover the devastating fire that broke out at The Landings Apartments on Fairways Drive in the Fairways subdivision.

Fortunately, all I had to do to remedy the situation was change into something else and wash my hair after I got home from work.

For those who lost their homes to the fire, eradicating the day’s event was much more than a shower and change of clothes.

There were no clothes or bathrooms to be had; they had all been consumed by the flames, which raged on for hours leaving them with nothing.

For those individuals and families who lived in the 12-unit apartment building, I cannot imagine what it must have felt like watching everything you own being destroyed.

While there was obviously thanksgiving Monday that no one had been hurt, there were also tears for all that was gone.

I know they say possessions can be replaced, but not all can. What about photographs?

I have a closet and several drawers in my home that house hundreds of photographs that have been taken through the years.

There are photos of my children taken shortly after they were born, there are photos of baptisms, birthdays, graduations and weddings. There are also photos of family vacations.

There are photos of my grandchildren, and I have old photographs of my grandparents when they were young.

There are DVD recordings that were made and also irreplaceable are the letters I have of correspondence between my great-grandparents, as well as letters written between my grandparents.

I have plastic containers organized and labeled with each of my children’s names full of artwork, school papers, report cards, awards, newspaper clippings and numerous keepsake items.

And there are art pieces hubby and I have collected through the years.

There have been times after reading about fire tragedies, or in my case covering them, I have thought about what I would do if my house caught on fire.

Certainly, I would yell for everyone there to get out, and if I had the time and forethought, I would try and grab up some of the photos. But in the case of some of those living in Building 9 at The Landings Apartments they weren’t even home to grab something if they had been able to.

They arrived with their homes already engulfed, destroyed and unable to save anything; maybe not even their pets.

One woman I saw was distraught with the thought her cats were in the burning building.

Hopefully, those cats got out after the apartment maintenance man opened all the doors to make sure there was no one inside.

Monday was tough, watching and talking to the people who had lost everything especially when there was nothing I could really do but offer them my prayers.

However, in the midst of me taking photographs for The Post, I noticed a rainbow reflected in the water coming from the fire hoses.

It reminded me that even in the midst of loss there is hope.

 

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer with The Vicksburg Post. She can be reached at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.