That is so sad. That is my biggest fear. My mom lost her home to a fire a few years ago. The firemen were great and were able to save the dogs. All the fish, hermit crabs, two iguanas and three snakes died. One kingsnake lived, but has scars from the burns. He will not grow at all and the vet says it is from the trauma. Seeing my mom through that really freaked me out. You never think that it would happen to you, but it can. I worry so much that my animals would get scared and hide. I have a sticker on my window for the firemen saying that I have animals.

I know this is sort of unrelated, but since we are on the subject....have a suitcase or something packed at all times with your important paperwork and perhaps a change of clothes. After the media and firemen left, I can't even begin to explain the feeling we all had...Sitting outside of the what used to be house with no clothes for my mom (my mom was in the shower and just had time to grab a nightgown before the roof collapsed; we didn't notice until the end of the day that she was in pj's. ) no paperwork...so we had no idea who to call.