A Nightmare Come True

Those of you who know my family know that we are the owners of O'Connor Cabinetry. My dad started this business a few years ago after quitting his previous job at the site with a love for building custom cabinets and other millwork, and he has never looked back on his decision. Our experience Sunday morning was no less than a traumatic event, but also something we have no choice but to learn from.

. . .

I woke up on Sunday morning at about 7:30 and couldn't sleep anymore. I had spent the weekend in Idaho with my family and had gotten a lot of wedding plans done in the mean time. All I could think about that morning was how much I didn't want to drive back to Utah. At around 8:00 the phone rang, and I heard my dad panicking about something. The first thought that came to mind was that someone was hurt or even dead. So I jumped out of bed and walked into the living room where my dad was throwing his coat on over his suit. He left the house before I could ask him what was wrong. When I found my mom she was in tears and told me that the cabinet shop was on fire. A friend of my dad's was driving by the shop (located in Rigby) and saw the flames. He called my dad immediately, who left right away. Amy had heard the commotion and came upstairs to find Mom and I frantically trying to put shoes and jackets on. The three of us jumped into Mom's car and drove out to the shop.

By the time we got there we saw fire trucks, police cars, and a lot of smoke. It was raining that day and I hadn't realized what I was wearing till I tried running through the mud in what appeared to be flip flops on my feet. When we ran up to the building we saw smoke coming out of all the windows and fire men spraying water inside it. We tried to go around the front of the building but there was too much smoke. So we sloshed through the mud around back to figure out if the fire was out and how much damage was caused. I couldn't see any flames (which I was thankful for) and there was a lot of smoke. But I think the worst sight of all was seeing my dad standing there in complete devistation. Besides family and friends, this cabinet business is his life. It is our livelihood. And the center of it all was on fire. It was a horrible sight. Amy and I called Amber, Che', Britney, and Aaron, and we also called some of my parents' closest friends. They all eventually got to the shop to see what we had been watching all morning. We were all a wreck, it was horrible.

The firemen were able to put the fire out and left around 10:00 while the rest of us stayed to look over the damage. It was hard to look at. My dad and his employees had been working on a couple of jobs, and all the cabinets were inside the building. They were all destroyed. There was also machinery inside that was ruined. Hopefully we'll be able to salvage some of it. The building had been taped off for safety, so we had to look from the outside. It was a sad moment for our family. And the rain made it so much more depressing. My grandparents also came out after a while and were very supportive as well. We definitely appreciated everyone being there for us.

After staying for a while longer we all knew there was nothing more we could do. So we decided to head back home. The family came back to the house and we talked about what we were experiencing. I was so glad all my siblings and their spouses were there. And Tyson came over when we got back to the house as well. It was comforting having him there with us. Dad wanted to take the sacrament so we all got ready for church and went together as a family. It was the first time we'd all been to church together with all the spouses and everybody there. It was so great, and it felt awesome being there with everyone. The spirit was so strong during fast and testimony meeting. The word had gotten out to some of the ward so we had people approaching us after the meeting was over.

When we got back to the house, Tyson's mom brought us over some homemade soup for lunch. It was so nice of her to do that, we really appreciated it. It was so soothing to eat hot soup on such a cold, sad day. And once again, all ten of us squished around the kitchen table that normally fits 6-8, and we shared a meal together as a family.

I'll never forget the way I felt yesterday morning. It has almost felt like a death in our family to all of us. It has been a very emotional couple of days. I am lucky enough to have a job that let me stay in Idaho for an extra day to be with my family. It was a horrible experience having to go through what we went through. In the end we found out the fire started in the spray room after a couple of rags at the bottom of a garbage can combusted. Definitely something to learn from. I'm so grateful that no one was hurt. We are all ready to move forward and get the business going again. We will have to build a new shop. But for now we're going to rent somewhere to get things up and running. I'm grateful for a family who loves each other and pulls together when times are tough.

. . .

This is a time for our family where faith is going to play a large role in our daily lives. But we're ready to move forward. And I know we can get through this. My dad has a lot of people standing behind him right now, and I know we can all move forward together.