06/20/2026
Neighbors helping neighbors. 🤝
Sometimes you are the helper, and sometimes you need the help. Yesterday, we were both—and we learned a few important lessons from each experience.
My family and I are currently staying at our family beach cabin on Samish Island, which comes with all kinds of fun, friends, and adventures. 🌊
Yesterday afternoon, we were lounging in the sun and watching the kids play in the tide flats when we heard a neighbor’s alarm. At first, it sounded like a car alarm, so we did not think much of it. Then my mother-in-law screamed that there was a fire, and everyone immediately jumped into action. 🔥
I grabbed a fire extinguisher and a set of my mother-in-law’s sandals and ran toward the smoke. Another neighbor was already on scene—my amazing aunt, Kara Janicki. She had found a furniture fire in the garage, apparently caused by direct sunlight hitting a mirror that had been stored inside.
Using the extinguisher, I was able to knock the fire down while directing others to bring hoses and buckets to make sure it did not flare back up as we waited for the island’s volunteer firefighters to arrive. 🚒
Even after the visible fire was out, a tremendous amount of black smoke was pouring from the house, causing me to wonder if there was another fire. There was a car in the driveway, and we weren’t sure if anyone was inside. I held my breath and entered the house, checking each room to ensure that it was clear.
Thankfully, the house was empty and there wasn’t another fire, but the smoke was thick and visibility in parts of the home was limited.
It was truly a team effort. Thankfully, everyone acted quickly enough to prevent significant fire damage, and no one was seriously hurt. 🙏
A few lessons from that experience:
✅Even when an alarm does not sound like a typical smoke detector, it is worth paying attention.
✅Skip the tiny household fire extinguishers. Get a larger one. Actually, get a bunch. We used every bit of ours, and the fire still was not fully extinguished to my satisfaction.
✅Even a relatively small fire can produce a tremendous amount of smoke, and smoke can become disorienting and dangerous very quickly.
After that excitement, the day proceeded fairly normally. The water was calm, so we put the boat in, tied it to a buoy, and I set up a tent to camp on the beach with my daughter. ⛺️🚤
Later that night, the wind and waves picked up. Around midnight, my wife woke me up to let me know that the buoy chain had broken and our boat had washed up on shore. 🌬️🌊
Thankfully, the wind was blowing inland rather than out into the bay. We tried to push the boat back into the water stern first to protect the engine and propeller, but the wind and waves were so strong that we were making very little progress. Even if we had gotten it back out on our own, we still needed a recovery plan—and my wife is not yet comfortable backing a truck and trailer down a narrow beach launch in the dark.
So, despite the late hour, we woke up another set of neighbors: our Uncle Dave, Aunt Katherine, and cousin Mary. Yes, there are a lot of us on this beach! 😅
Dave and Mary came to the rescue, helping us push the boat back into the water, bow first. I jumped in, got the motor started, and idled out into deeper water while Dave backed our truck and trailer down the narrow launch in complete darkness so we could recover the boat and get it out of danger. 🛻
Once again, a neighbor helped a neighbor. 🤝
A couple more lessons:
✅In that situation, pushing the boat out bow first would have been much easier. It still would have been incredibly difficult without extra—and very strong—help.
✅Everyone should learn to back up a trailer at some point. You never know when that skill might come in handy.
It was an exciting day, but honestly, it was a pretty normal day for the Schaffner family. We problem-solved, we learned, and we laughed. It keeps life interesting.
We are always looking to help those in need, and we are tremendously grateful for the people who are willing to come to ours.
In this crazy world, be a good neighbor. ❤️
