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PennsylvaniaI just got off the phone with my brother. His apartment building caught fire. According to him, there's nothing left but a burned out shell. The building is a total loss.
My brother, Ryan, got out safely but all he has are the clothes on his back, his car keys and $100 cash.
Ryan isn't hurt. He got out with plenty of time to spare. He's obviously mentally shaken but he's taking it all in stride so far. It will probably take some time for the reality to set in. In another day or so, we expect him to have his emotional break. Me and the Bears are getting ready to help him out any way we can.
We don't know a whole lot at this point. The fire department is still on-scene. They are still pouring water on the building. Apparently the cause was electrical in nature. The fire marshall will investigate come daybreak.
They have called in the Red Cross to offer temporary shelter and assistance. Once he gets settled in his affairs, I'll probably go pick him up and put him on the sofa for the night. Time will tell...
In the mean time, we would appreciate it if you guys would call in reinforcements and send some BearPower in our direction. We could sure use the moral support right now.
All the Bears in this den are transmitting at full power for Ryan but it sure would be nice if we could add a few more Bears to the force.
BEAR POWER COMING HIS WAY!!!!!!
Sending bear power too!! 
We had much the same story ourselves jsut over a year ago when we were flooded... It's soul destroying but have faith... everything happens for a reason & we're certainly stronger from what appeared to be a major misfortune at the time :hug:
Wishing luck & best wishes your way :hug:
Hugs,
Julia x
EJ's CraftsBEAR POWER GOING EAST FROM ARIZONA.!!!!!! Glad that Ryan is okay but it will set in in a coulpe of days that he has to start all over but it is just material things and they can be replaced.
Many, many bear hugs coming your way.
bingle bearsSending all the BEAR POWER we have here!!!
Cheryl
Boechout, AntwerpWhat a terrible thing to happen to your brother, Randy. 
Thank heavens he is OK, but the emotional loss must be severe.
So my whole hug is sending out all their BEAR POWER to you and your brother Ryan !
Hugs, :hug:
Peter
desertmountainbearThe bears and I are sending our most positive thoughts your way. Please keep us posted
Joanne
Oh my gosh, thank goodness he got out in time. Sending lots of good thoughts... this happened to my neighbors across the street and it was horrible... :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
Past Time BearsSo sorry about the fire that cost Ryan and evidently all the apartment residents most of their possessions - but glad that he wasn't injured. It's got to be very traumatic to experience something like that . . . I wish him lots of comfort and better days after the shock wears off. Thank goodness he can count on you and Melanie for support.
Carlyle Bear Co.I'm so glad that Ryan is safe and sound. Such a terrible thing to have to deal with. The bears and I are sending bear power out at full strength. :hug: Hope everything works out for him!
The Littlest ThistleSorry to hear that, but glad he made it out okay. Lots of bear power swimming across the Atlantic to you.
PennsylvaniaThank you very much for all your good thoughts and Bear Power! 
It has already had good effect. 
Ryan works for a local chain of hotels as a rooms inspector.
(The rooms inspector is the guy who goes through all the hotel rooms after the guests have checked out and the maids have cleaned them and gotten them ready for the next guest. He is the one who okays each room to be rented again.)
The owner of the hotel heard about the fire and has given my brother permission to stay in a hotel room for two weeks until he can find a new place to live.
So, you see! This Bear Power thing really does work!
We have evidence!
The apartment complex is (or should I say WAS) a 32-unit, two story building. All apartments had one or two bedrooms. It was red brick exterior with wood frame interior and a gable roof. Ryan lived on the second floor at one end of the complex.
He says the smoke alarms went off at approximately 3:45 am. He woke up and thought it was a false alarm. Ryan always tells stories about people cooking in the kitchen and setting off the smoke detectors. But, this time, the alarms kept going off. He went out to the hallway and saw that it was full of smoke. He knew this wasn't one of "those" times.
Ryan has one of those metal cash boxes with a key lock which he uses to keep all his important papers. He threw on some clothes and a coat, grabbed his lock box, his wallet and his car keys and headed out for the parking lot. The rest is, pretty much, history...
The fire marshal says the fire started on the second floor in an apartment across the hall from Ryan's. Apparently, the guy who lives there isn't too swift, if you know what I mean. The neighbor claims it was an electrical fire. The guy has second degree burns to both hands. He says he tried to put out the fire and burned himself in the process. We're not so sure about that but, being Bear people, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt until we get hard evidence.
My phone rang at about 4:00 am. It was our mother telling me that the building was on fire. I went downstairs and turned on my police/fire scanner. It was only a few minutes after that when we heard the fire chief call over the radio, "Structure is fully involved! We are taking defensive positions!"
Anybody who understands firefighter lingo knows that code for, "This one is a goner!"
I spoke to my brother by phone at around 5:00 am. He said he was unscathed but you could tell by the tone of his voice that he was shaken up. (Who wouldn't be! 
) By the time the sun came up, the Red Cross had sent some buses to the scene to evacuate all the residents.
Here's ANOTHER testament to Bear Power! All the people got out safely!
Yes, this Bear Power thing really works, I tell you!
I had to go to work this morning. I work in a theater. We had a 2:00 pm Sunday matinee to put on but I had another chance to talk to Ryan by phone. He says that the landlord is going to refund his security deposit! That will give him about $500 to work with until he can get back on his feet. The Red Cross gave him a voucher to go to the store and buy himself some clothes. They'll also help him get a mattress and some linens once he finds a new place to live.
What did I tell you about this Bear Power thing?!
After I came home from work this afternoon we went to the apartment complex to survey the damage. The whole second floor has been burned away! There is no roof, nor is there anything left above waist level. It's all just charred wood and debris. There MIGHT be a few things left that were down near floor level. We're sure that 95% of everything has been lost. We might be able to salvage a few momentoes but we don't have a lot of hope to get anything more than that.
Melanie, Ryan and I were standing in the parking lot outside the burned out shell of the building and, just as we were getting back into the car to leave, he turned around, looked over his shoulder and shrugged... "Oh, what the hell..." he said.
Yeah, he's certainly depressed as anybody would be in his shoes but he's taking everything in stride.
I am a little concerned that he still hasn't had his "emotional catharsis time" yet but only time can tell about that.
We are going to make sure he has a Teddy Bear with him tonight to keep him company, just in case he need a shoulder to cry on. He's a strong little sucker. After all, he's my little brother! I didn't teach him to be a sissy! 
(J.K.) I am certain he'll pull through this. It should be little more than a bump in the road. ;)
Thank you very much for all the Bear Power! It was a big help! We probably wouldn't have pulled it off without you. Tell all your Bears "Thank you!" Give them some chocolate and tell them I owe them a big hug if I ever see them!
Thanks a lot, guys! I'll keep you updated if there is any more news.
PennsylvaniaCan you believe some idiot shot video of the fire with his cell phone camera then posted it on YouTube?!
So... Do any of you guys want to see what happened?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm7vLqNuEI8
Ryan's apartment is (was) just to the right of where the fire was highest, shooting out of the roof. The second highest peak of flame is where his apartment was. If you look carefully, you can see the windows of the apartments. His was the third and fourth windows from the extreme right end of the building. Right in the heart of the blaze!
As the camera pans to the left you can see the flames literally crawling along the roof line, spreading to the entire building. Near the end of the video clip, the loud noise you hear is the sound of all the fire trucks blowing their horns, simultaneously. This is the signal from the fire chief for all the firefighters who are inside the building to evacuate the premises immediately because the roof is in imminent danger of collapse.
By the time this video was shot, Ryan had been out of the building for more than 20 minutes. He was safe in a position far behind where the camera was located.
Here's a link to the local television's newscast of the fire.
http://yourerie.com/content/fulltext/?cid=89562
Ryan is the second guy interviewed in this news clip. He's the one wearing the brown leather jacket.
Look for the ladder of the tower truck which extends over the roof in both videos. It is in the same location for both shots. You can use that as a landmark to reference the two videos.
One more little ray of sunshine:
At the end of the news clip you can see the cat which the firefighters pulled out of the building several hours AFTER the fire had gone out! Can you believe that cat SURVIVED that fire!? Amazing!
I bet he used up eight lives on that stunt!
