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A Transformational Moment
In 1993 I packed up everything of value to me and headed west from New Jersey to Colorado. I like to drive straight through with little rest, so I was making
great time getting across country. I was cruising at around 75MPH in my fully loaded van, just outside Chicago in Gary, Indiana around midnight. Some guys in a pickup truck pulled up
beside me to get my attention. I thought they were harassing me. I ignored them for a mile or so, and then realized they were pointing to the rear of my van. I pulled off to the side to
see that my right rear axle/tire was on fire. I got the little fire extinguisher out as the guys that flagged me down stopped and came over to help. The fire extinguisher sputtered for
about 5 seconds then went dead. It was raining that evening off and on, so I ran to the front seat, emptied out a small cooler and ran to the ditch next to the road that had water in it.
Dipped the cooler in the puddle and ran back to the van to put the fire out. It took several trips before I could get the fire out.
The two guys, a father and son on there way home from a hunting trip really saved my life. Cruising at 75 MPH with the music blasting and my axle on fire
could have been fatal. If they hadn't flagged me over, I would have had a horrible acci dent with an overloaded van. A "traveler emergency courtesy guy" pulled up right after the fire was put out. The two hunters wished me luck and
took off home. In hindsight, I wish I could have gotten there name and number to thank them. The road assistance guy was one of those volunteer groups that patrol
the highway in search of people that need assistance. I thought - what great luck. He called AAA for me, and waited with me for about thirty minutes before he had
to take off and continue his patrol.
The tow truck took about an hour to arrive. When he did, arrive he was a young guy on a Friday night
rushing to get off work so he could go out partying. At the time I thought nothing of it. I was concerned
about where I was going to spend the night and what was it going to take to fix the van. He assured me
his garage could take care of me first thing in the morning, and that there were cheap hotels near the
garage. I told him what had happened, but he really wasn't listening to me, just rushing to tow me about
2 miles to his garage. I figured, this was supposed to happen. Breakdown in Chicago and spend a
couple of days in Chi-Town before continuing on to Colorado. I was feeling pretty good despite the anticipated travel delay.
The tow truck driver picked my van up from the front with his tow truck. Later I found out he should
have gone back to the garage and gotten the flatbed truck to tow a fully loaded van. Especially a van
that was having problems with its axle. Let alone one whose axle was just on fire. Things were
happening too fast for me to connect the dots on the side of the road at one in the morning in a strange city.
I usually travel with a backpack in which I keep all of my important things plus a fanny pack with my
wallet and PDA. Since we were only going a couple of miles, I left my backpack in the van with all of
the rest of my worldly possessions. Needless to say about less then a mile down the road, I'm sitting in
the front seat of the tow truck looking at the road through the side mirror when I see the rear tire of my
van fall off and roll to the side of the road. I immediately tell the tow truck driver what happened.
Before he could pull to the side and come to a stop. The combination of the sparks from the axle dragging on the ground and the gas tank being dragged spelle d disaster. The gas tank ruptured just before we came to a stop partially under a bridge
on the highway. The back of the van was on fire again. This time it was a real fire fueled by the gasoline.
When the tow truck came to a stop, we both jumped out and ran forward away from the burning van. As we got out of the truck, the tow
truck driver grabbed his metal pad and radioed to his headquarters, "I'm in an accident - fire". We were both so scared, neither of us could think
clearly about what was going on. The fire raced quickly up the back of my van. It was packed so
tight with books, papers, furniture, all of my prize belongings for my new life in the mountains of
Colorado. The tow truck driver eventually realized that his tow truck would probably catch fire as well
once the flames reached the front of the van. I think he saw his career at that garage flash before his
eyes. So he got up enough nerve to try and unhitch the van from the tow truck before the flames
reached the front. He couldn't get all of the chains free, because of the heat and his fear of an explosion.
He jumped into the tow truck and tried to yank the truck free, only pulling the van forward with the truck with the last thread of connection by one of the chains.
As he was pulling, yanking the truck forward, the flames from the van where buckling the bridge we
were under. I was about 40 yards in front of all the action on the side of the road in a state of shock.
Even though I could see and hear everything, it felt like a dream that was happening in slow motion. It
had been raining so the roads were slick. The tow trucks actions caused a great scene as the fire
belched greater each time he revved up the truck and lurched it forward. During this, the cars that were passing us on the highway were not slowing down very much.
His buddy arrives and frantically helps him try to save the tow truck. Just as they get it pulled free, I can
hear the sirens of the fire engines. Great maybe they can save some of my things, the fire has totally
engulfed the van, but maybe the stuff in the center or on the bottom could be saved. To my chagrin, the
fire trucks go across the bridge that the van is partially underneath. At first I think they would stop there
and run hoses down the embankment to get to the van. No such luck. As they continue going, not
stopping, they get on the highway going the other direction. What. This can't be happening to me.
Just then a car in the fast lane slows to watch the spectacle of my van on fire, a tractor trailer jackknifes
and is sliding past me crashing into all of these cars that have slowed. It was so surreal. Standing there
watching everything of value of mine in flames, the fire trucks driving by and not stopping, the tow truck
guys trying to free there truck, the multiple car pile up that is happening right in front of me.
As the fire trucks pass by us on the other side of the highway I wonder if I'm in a nightmare or a
keystone cops movie, where they will never arrive. They finally come up the highway on my side and
immediately get started putting out the fire. By this time the fire was dying down of its own volition. They were merely killing the last flames and drenching the smoldering stuff.
The state patrol arrives shortly after the fire trucks and begins immediately helping the accident victims.
Ambulances arrive to cater to the injured. I am still in awe at what is going on around me. At the height
of all this happening, some biker guy and chick right out of a hells angel movie come over to me. I don't
recall what the guy said, but the lady just gave me a big hug out of the blue and said everything will be
all right. I turned to look at what was going on with the van and the fireman just for a second. When I
turned back around the bikers where no where to be seen. I wonder to this day if they were really angels there to comfort me.
Ironically, I began to feel good and happy. Like a great weight had been lifted. In that van was all of my
possessions. More importantly it represented who I was up to that point - music, computers, skis, books, business papers, etc. I felt almost reborn, cleansed by the fire.
A few weeks earlier, I was on a ski trip with a friend who is a fire marshal. We actually had a
conversation about cars exploding from being on fire; he indicated that it was Hollywood fiction when
they have vehicles explode from the gas tank being on fire. I had completely forgotten about that
conversation. If I had remembered, I would have been cognizant about the dangers and could have
retrieved at least my backpack from the front seat of the van. Like he said, no explosions occurred, just
streams of flames and intense heat from the gasoline and tightly packed items in the van.
Now the fire was put out and the owner of the tow truck company was trying to explain things to the
state police. They got the flatbed tow truck and dragged the burned out van onto the flatbed. If they
had done this to begin with, none of this would have happened. They gave me a ride to that cheap hotel and indicated we would straighten things out in the morning.
The mixed emotion of almost being killed, losing everything you own, not knowing what to do, was a
strange time. The morning came with sunshine and the renewed feeling that life goes on no matter what.
Ironically I was feeling pretty good the next morning, when making all the calls necessary to Mom/Dad,
my insurance company, and the tow truck company. Having my PDA and wallet in my fanny-pack
really saved the day. I still had all of my important numbers and information on the small hand held computer.
I only had liability insurance on the van, but I had a $25 a month renters policy where I had just moved
from. The cheap renters policy would prove to be the life saver I never would have imagined. They would pay to replace all of my belongings, including the van.
I was in such a good mood. I had to really try to get myself upset when dealing with the tow truck
company and insurance adjuster, to get them to respond properly.
I called a ski buddy of mine who lived in Chicago at the time and explained my predicament. Needless
to say, she gave me a place to stay and moral support, while I dealt with the aftermath of the accident.
I got the insurance company to give me a rental car to get around town while dealing with the issues at
hand. The insurance adjuster did not believe me when I started telling him all the things I had packed in
the van. Once he went down to the lot to inspect the burned out van as pictured above, he apologized to me for doubting my word.
I went to an army-navy store and bought 3 huge duffle bags. I went by the Salvation Army and Kmart
to pickup some basics. Upon inspection of the burned out van, everything was burned to a crisp. I
naively thought that the keys inside my backpack would be laying there on the front floor. The fire was
so hot, it incinerated even all of the metal objects. The only things I was able to salvage were books and
papers down in the middle of the van. The boxes at the bottom were scorched and burned on the
outside, but the contents were in tact not withstanding the edges of everything being burned. So I filled
three duffle bags with important papers, ski tapes and books that were all smoke damaged.
A couple of days after the accident, I decided to book a flight to Denver, instead of trying to drive the
remaining distance. I arrived in Denver, caught a limo to the place I had secured in the mountains –
Dillon, Colorado. Finally, I had made it to my destination. Much lighter then I had anticipated. No skis,
no business documents, no computers. I would have to start from scratch. It was probably the best life
lesson I have ever had. Knowing that at anytime, everything can be taken away from you, and it really
would not matter in the greater scheme of things. Because the most important things in life cannot be burned up in a fire. The important things are faith, family, and friends.
Mike Lanier
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