It was a regular Friday afternoon — August 25, 2017, to be exact. My family had enjoyed a great summer together and was returning to a more scheduled routine with the kids back in school (my daughter, away in college and my son, in his senior year in high school). Every Friday afternoon, my husband treats himself to a tennis workout, so he was there.
I was home alone with our two dogs. I sat at my desk, working on the sequel to Pennies from Burger Heaven when our smoke alarm rang out at 4 p.m. I walked through my house and saw …