Beyond Scared Safe: Life After Fire Part 2

After the fire our lives changed dramatically. Things that we never even gave a second thought to suddenly became the most important things ever. Candles only get burned in open areas, sitting in a plate of water. Smoke detectors in every room, tested monthly. I don't want to live in a house without central heat because space heaters scare me. Gas stoves make me nervous, and when we barbeque the hose is out and the fire is COMPLETELY extinguished before we go in. I am talking you could stick your hand in the middle of it and not feel any warmth, no hot not even warm coals left, before we walk away. Even though the fire that took my dream house from me was deemed due to faulty electrical wiring, anything that has the slightest potential to start a fire scares me. Cigarettes get put out in water, and lighters are kept up high away from the reach of any little hands. I wont allow a match in the house and the gas can is kept outside away from the house. It is amazing how something like that changes everything you do in life so quickly without you even having to put any thought into it. How things you never cared about before are the most important thing. When we were looking for a new house to rent after the fire, all I could ask about was gas or electric? Is everything up to code? Was there ever a fire here before? I have relaxed some since then, house hunting is easier and not as scary but I will never be the same as I was before, none of us will be.