I got a call just before midnight Sunday that started with “First of all, everyone is okay.” Then BS20 tells me that the campground he and his roommates were staying at had multiple propane tank explosions, their camper (along with 6-8 others) and all of their stuff is gone, he heard screaming and there is at least one fatality (a 15yo boy), and there are multiple investigative agencies involved.Copy/paste from my son’s message to me: “These are very small campers that I'm talking about, old and wooden that run on propane. They are incredibly flammable and apt to explode. About 5 houses down, there was a propane explosion. Freak accident, something just sort of waiting to happen in a place like this. within minutes, houses one by one down the line went up in flames/ small explosions. Because we saw the power flicker, I knew to tell everyone to shut off the gas in the house and grab what we could on our way out. We heard a scream and then popping sounds, looked to our right and the house beside us was up in huge flames. We got out with everyone safe just in time, and a couple belongings each. Our wallets are gone, we're already in the processes of replacing legal documents like social security cards. The investigators spoke with us today, got our statement. This, and what we witnessed, means that there were casualties. The fire marshal told (boyfriend’s) father that if we hadn't had the instinct to turn off the gas in the house, it would have also exploded, and every house down the line would have too. Because of that, the fire was slower getting to our cabin, and ended one over from us. We unknowingly saved lives last night, including our own. Each of us got out with just minor bruises, a couple of small burns from debris, and shock at worst. We're rattled, and this will definitely be something to work through, but we're all incredibly lucky. I kept it together over the night but now that we're in the car on the way home, I'm having a hard time not freaking out. Texting to keep calm right now, can't exactly pull over and puke on these winding ass mountain roads.”My son and his friends are safe. His boyfriend’s dad owned the camper and got there in record time to get the kids a hotel room and handle the legal side of things. I’m in another state so I overnighted some cash, an old ID, my son’s backup birth certificate and also bought an e-gift card for him to replace some things. He can replace his social security card and driver’s license online, thankfully, and hopefully what I sent is enough to get him a new bank card, replace some clothes, and get groceries until the bank stuff is worked out. My ex and I agreed to cover therapy copays for a while so that there are no obstacles to him working through this.My birthday is Friday and my son was apologizing for not being able to get me anything (seriously, WHAT?!?) but I don’t even care about that. He and his friends are safe and that’s all I care about. I’m weepy off and on and have a nasty headache, but I’ve done all I can from here. I’m on standby in case I need to get up there - cars are gassed up and I have a go-bag ready. My ex and I stayed up most of the last two nights helping him through the residual emotions and I’m knackered. Today will be a day of self-care, but if anyone has any suggestions on how to work through this or anything we may not have thought of, please let me know. via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/37rgytn
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