“Many years ago we had a terrible fire in which we lost a house, and barely escaped with our lives.”
Been there, done that myself....It is a very sad experience.
The strange thing is, once you have a major fire, and start talking to people about it, is how many people you know WELL will tell you they have had the same.
After my fire my best friend told me she nearly died in one as a child, and several others of my friends and neighbors told me similar stories.
Unless someone dies or is burned, it recedes into the past and you don’t talk about it - but at the time you think you’ll never get over it.