Would you, for any reason, still want to go back to your place razed by fire?

after the fire - this is what remains after the fire
Philippines
January 11, 2010 6:30am CST
It would be great sadness to lose one's house and other belongings to fire. It was your hard-earned money and sweat reduced to ashes. You may try to say to yourself to get over it already but deep inside you feel that you just can't function. Would you still want to go back and visit the place where your house was? Why or why not?
10 responses
• Philippines
16 Jan 10
Well, i think i can go back especially if i own the property. I would just make sure that the same thing will not happen again.
• Philippines
16 Jan 10
Hi Triplejazzm51, Yes, I am sure lots of things are yet to be done after the fire. This is especially so if we own the property. Immediately going back at the area as soon as it is safe is sometimes what we do to check if there are things which are salvageable. We need to clear the area, too and hope to start things again.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
13 Jan 10
I would definitely feel like a huge part of me was missing if my house was reduced to ashes. I think in our situation we would rebuild our house on the same piece of land so it would be natural that I would return to the land where my house had once sat. It would make me sad in the long run that everything that I owned had disappeared and I would have to rebuild not only my house but my entire life as well.
• Philippines
13 Jan 10
Hi, Yes, we need to go back to clear up the place. This is especially so if we plan to rebuild a house on the same place. It would also be nice to see the neighbors there. Though painful and sad, we hope to get over with it in time.
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
12 Jan 10
roof fire - My Fiancee's place after the fire that destroyed the roof...
I suppose it would depend on the construction of the building,and the extent of the Damage to the home...My Fiancee's place had a roof fire,which was badly damaged,but has since been fully repaired..I helped out some with Her salvaging of her stuff afterwards,as the house itself only really suffered some water Damage as a result of the fire crew putting the fire out..But if a house of timber construction burned to the ground,destroying everything,there would be no real point to return,unless to visit the scene and give thanks You weren't inside..
• Philippines
12 Jan 10
Hi ShepherdSpy, Certainly, if there are things saved after the fire, you really have a reason to go back. You also need to be there as building owner to check not only on the extent of the damage but also to plan your next course of action after the accident. It is sad when fires happen in our place. Even during the fire, there are a lot of looters and they take advantage of the opportunity. After the fire, they are still there to check what more they can salvage to earn money out of it.
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
12 Jan 10
I would want to check to see if anything might salvageable and what it would take to rebuild. Should we decide not to rebuild, which I seriously doubt, I'd still want to visit our neighbors, with whom we have been friends for well over 30 years. On the flip side, I went back to visit the area where we lived when our son was born. The house we had owned was not being cared for as we did. The only neighbor still there after all that time (about 20 years) was cordial but not real friendly. I wished later that I had driven right on through without stopping.
• Philippines
12 Jan 10
Hi Bellis, Well, who knows there might still be things that we can still salvage and use. The neighbors have been part of our lives. I, too, would want to visit and ask how things are for them. I sometimes meet people like your neighbor. I was to anxious to say hello to them after a long time but they seem to be unhappy about what I did. I don't let it affect me --- I am contented with the thought that I have made myself happy by doing what I thought was good and right.
@None49 (33)
• Brunei Darussalam
11 Jan 10
I'm glad that I don't have any experience about it so I just give my opinion. Yup because that place is full of memory about the past so I will remember where I from by thinking about where and how do I get the things at the past. It may help motivate me that the things that are given or gained are not forever and I should not forget where I from. Btw answering your question make me think and learn about it
• Philippines
12 Jan 10
Hi None49, Nobody wants to have that experience; let us pray it will not happen to any of us or to our loved ones. Even in our thoughts, we visit our past. I am sure we would like to visit the place and see the extent of damage. I personally think it is good for me --- it "updates" the pictures that I stored in my memory bank. All things are temporary. It may pain us to lose very important things in our life. But we just need to move on in our own pace.
@megamatt (14291)
• United States
11 Jan 10
Maybe if I would want to go back once. Just to see the damage. Maybe, just maybe(of course this is a reach), there would be something that could be salvaged from the wreckage. Its possible after all. After one time, the memories might be too painful. Of what has been lost. I would rather not relieve anything more than once and that once is a huge maybe. It really depends on how much the house has been destroyed.
• Philippines
12 Jan 10
Hi Megamatt, Yes, most people do that. They go back to check the extent of the damage. They go back to check if there are things that can be salvaged from there. It surely is painful and sad to see the loss. Seeing it once more helps us accept reality though painful.
@May2k8 (18389)
• Indonesia
11 Jan 10
I'll be back to see the house that had been burned, because it saved a lot of memories from childhood until now.
• Philippines
12 Jan 10
Hi May2k8, I actually did that, too. When I was a student, I was renting a room in the city. The house was in a crowded area but I chose to live there because of its proximity to the school. We had previous fire alarms which spared us but we did not escape one big fire which burned the house where we stayed. Even if we did not have much belongings at that time, our books and other personal things were precious to us. I came back to the place to see how the place was and to just meet the other victims there and have small talks. Up to these days, when I pass by the place, memories keep coming back.
@doryvien (2284)
• United States
11 Jan 10
Hi, I was one of those greatly affected by typhoon Ondoy, almost the whole of our house's first level was submerged in water, all my belongings in the living room were damaged, even those in the kitchen were not spared. But razed by fire? It must be three-folds more devastating. I hope I'm not making you feel worse with my reaction. But after seeing the picture attached here, I just felt...terrible. As to your question, yes, I'd still want to go back, maybe because it's hard to let go of something that's so dear. But I won't let myself be trapped inside it's memory, the next best thing to do is still to move on. And I hope that you have already started the process of letting go and moving on. Despite all these, it is still a beautiful world.
• Philippines
11 Jan 10
Hi Doryvien, No, you are not making me feel worse. That is not a picture of any personal property that I have. It was my daughter's friend's place. There are things we want to see and check. There are things we want to know. Maybe we need to do these things for some particular reasons or just ... plain curiosity. Letting go and moving on is a long process. Time can only tell.
@shellback (864)
• Philippines
11 Jan 10
Yes, because for me its only a story of the past, we cant change anything that already happened, maybe the best things to do is forget the past and focus to a new day with full of hope and trust to the Lord.
• Philippines
11 Jan 10
Hi Shellback, That is a very positive approach. At first, it would be hard to just forget about it. But we have to realize there should be no reason why we dwell in the past. We can never undo the past. Instead, we should try to rise up against hopelessness and sadness and begin to work for a new tomorrow and a new dream. We should try to slowly forget the painful past and move on.
@BART78 (2927)
• Canada
11 Jan 10
certainly, yes!...for me it only mind set and how to deal with it but i won't go back if one on my love one lost there lives...
• Philippines
11 Jan 10
Hi Bart, Yes, just like you, I want to visit the place again just for curiosity's sake. I want to go back to see for myself the extent of destruction. This is especially so if there are some things I need to do about the property. I still need to clear the area of debris and maybe, take pictures for insurance purposes. It is hard to visit the place where sad and bitter memories are left. It would be hard to relive that time you shared with someone who lost in that fire.