Tracy Marie took a break from cleaning fire damage today to tell me all about what went down at yesterday’s fire, which impacted Tracy Marie’s Day Spa and some items from Leigh Young’s Gift Gallery (the two share a space), but fortunately not a whole lot else in Sanford & Son.  Though there’s water damage, especially on the ground floor, the fact that the building remains standing is a testament to Tracy Marie’s amateur firefighting skills and the Middle Floor Merchants’ ability to work together.

“There was a candle, I thought I blew it out, I went to get coffee chatted with Jen (from Country Girl Gardens)… we noticed water and then smoke coming out of my room…”

Tracy Marie said Jen quickly grabbed a large fire extinguisher, and Tracy Marie got to work; Jen grabbed a second fire extinguisher and Tracy Marie emptied that one as well.

About ten minutes later, “some guy made me leave, I’m not sure who he was… Maybe some fire chaplain guy?”

While the water main bursting potentially helped staunch the spread of the fire, the flames were starting to burn all the wood above the water main, where the smoke was seen coming through, and that area was beginning to burn quickly.

“Yeah the water main broke, but that’s not was put out the fire… I put it out!”

For that bravery, Tracy Marie was awarded a stay at the hospital for breathing treatments and spent the rest of the evening in the care of her mother, as she has asthma and needed monitoring.
As for the rest of the gang at the Middle Floor Merchants, it was business as usual, with an evening of shock and cleaning ending out their busy day.

I’m thinking that probably my own candle use is going to change a bit: yes, kids, those innocent looking air-improvers really can wreak havoc on a space. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler