It’s a rainy summer night. The smell of something odd is in the air. Walking through the house and down the stairs, a family is gathered in confusion. The cause for their confusion: a house fire.

“Initially, I was in shock,” sophomore Mallory Novicoff said. “It was so bizarre watching my house in flames, I had no idea how to react at the time.  After the realization that my house was really on fire, I cried for a little, but was happy we got out.”

On the night of June 4, lightning struck Novicoff’s house, causing the roof to erupt in flames.

“The fire started from three lightning bolts converging into one, and hitting the roof right above my room, where I was in at the time,” said Novicoff.  “The bolt was so strong. The electricity spread through the attic, destroying the wiring. The electricity caused a fire in the upstairs.”

The damage to the home will take a lengthy amount of time to fix, Novicoff said. The time estimate for repair is about one year — 10 months at best.

“The entire upstairs was destroyed, except for [my sister and I’s] closets and bathrooms, and part of my sister’s room,” Novicoff said.  “My room was directly under where the lightning struck, so that is where most of the damage was. The water from the firemen’s hoses and the pouring rain caused severe water damage to the rest of the house.”

Novicoff said her family found a home that they could rent four houses down from their original home.

“Honestly, we all realized how lucky we are that we got a beautiful home so close to our original house — that adjusting has not been too difficult,” said Mallory.  “The hardest thing to adjust to was having to get a whole new closet of clothes, makeup, kitchen appliances, food, technology and more household items.”

Four minutes and forty-five seconds was all the time that the Novicoff’s had to leave the house.

“The firemen came about seven minutes later, so we did not have a dramatic exit out of our burning house,” Novicoff said.  “The flames enlarged approximately three minutes after the firemen’s arrival and our exit.”

Senior Mandy Novicoff, Mallory’s older sister, said the time felt much shorter than it actually was.

[I took] nothing while leaving the house. We did not know it was on fire,” Mandy said.

The girls said they took almost nothing from the home as they fled. Many people would wish that they would have brought something with them as they left.

“[I wish I brought more as I left], and I wrote a college essay about that,” Mandy said.  “I wish I would have grabbed the objects that had started family traditions.”

Mallory, however, has a different opinion.

“After seeing all of my items from my room burnt, I did regret not grabbing anything,” Novicoff said.  “But now that my life has somewhat returned to normal, I do not regret a thing because no item is more important to save than your family.  The only things I had in my arms after leaving my house was my phone and my dog.”

Although the girls had different viewpoints on that, they both agree on one thing — the fire changed their views on life.

“I know now that I am so lucky that my family is all safe,” Mandy said. “The materialistic objects don’t matter — it’s the people you are with that do. A family makes a home, not the home itself.”