This is the reminiscence of one of the most memorable stories I have ever covered. It pains me to say that this was one of the worst moments in someone else's life.

A few weekends ago I watched a beautiful house burn to the ground.

No this is not a joke or a metaphor. It was for real. And luckily it wasn't my house. I didn't even know the people.

I lay out the Rolla Daily News on Sundays (the Monday paper) and that week I was in desperate need of stories to fill up the space.

As I was driving around town looking for a happy-go-lucky picture, like a bunch of kids swinging in the park, I saw a bunch of Rolla Rural Fire Department trucks drive by. Normally I just wonder, but this time, I was looking for news. So I followed a truck down Highway 63 a few blocks and saw tons and tons of black smoke coming from over the tree covered hills. Something was obviously going on, and it looked like a story.

I continued to follow and called the Rolla Police Department on my cell. I identified myself, and asked what was going on. The operator told me that there was a structural fire on County Road 8050. She also mentioned that four separate fire departments were responding.

In this area, it's not at all unusual to have lots of people responding. But four different fire departments working together generally means something big is going on.

I had been down this road before for another story. I was hoping it wasn't the same people I had interviewed before. It wasn't, but that didn't make it any better.

I had never seen a house on fire before. This was unbelievable. It was so horrible, so fascinating, so overwhelming and astonishing, and it left me so speechless. I can't even begin to describe the emotions running through my body.

I took some deep breathes before getting out of the car because I was so overwhelmed. Then I got out and began to walk around, though still saying very little.

I looked for the person in charge. By now I know many of the head people in charge of various things around Rolla. Or, when all else fails, I look for the person with the clipboard watching what's going on. Well, in all honesty, it's not that easy to spot. But you can learn which people aren't in charge and you can narrow it down that way.

There are some people who are so good at not answering questions. Those people are so interesting to me. They don't lie to you like many people would. They don't ignore you like some people do. They give partial answers, and then point out someone else you should go talk to. Those are the people who should be in higher up administrative positions, not the ones who will lie their butts off and assume you will never get it because you are just stupid. I think many of you reading this can think of someone like that, if not here at UMR then somewhere else in your life.

For a long time I just stood and watched. I know I said this before, but I was absolutely speechless. The only words coming out of my mouth were variations of 'oh my God.'

The yard of the house was strewn with children's toys. There was a trampoline, a few bicycles, one of those little yellow and red 'cozy coupe' that was melted to the point of no return, and a few other things.

Questions ran through my mind, but not out my mouth.

It was obvious who the homeowners were. It's so hard to approach someone in that situation, in the heat of the moment. I can talk to people accused of raping their children, people who have shot at robbers, people who have been in car accidents, but talking to someone when we are 10 yards away from their house that is up in flames is a whole different story.

How do you approach something like that?

How are you doing? Your house is burning down, I see.

I don't think so. I am naturally concerned about people, even if I don't know them.

I kept walking around, taking pictures, watching, and most importantly listening. You can learn so much by the things you overhear in a situation. You can hear what one firefighter is saying to another. You can hear what people are talking about on their cell phones, which would be particularly useful if it was the fire victims. In time, you get information that helps you ask somewhat informed questions. I find that it is hard to go into an interview without doing research. In a situation like this, however, it is not always an option. So listening is the next best.

Listening, I learned more than talking. Then I began asking questions. There wasn't much to ask. The obvious questions (Is everyone ok? What started it? Among others,) were answered. Everyone was fine, there were no injuries and the children weren't home. At the end of the day, after the house was practically burnt to the ground, no one knew what caused the fire.

Maybe it was too late when they got there or maybe the building materials contributed to the unbelievably fast blaze. But I know that I don't want to ever live in a house made primarily of cedar. It seemed like nothing the fire fighters did was any help to this house. And, after being there for a few minutes, it was obvious that they were allowing the house to burn, just preventing the surrounding area from catching ablaze.

I can only imagine the heartache and pain of the family, who had stayed and watched the house, and everything in it, burn to the ground.