Georg von Trapp retorted that “if they wanted to see the house decorated, we could hang a few … carpets out the windows!”

“The winds were too strong. I tried to go back inside to get my wallet, but the fire was in the house. Windows popping. I was the last one to leave the neighborhood.”

When she got out of bed, she recalled feeling dazed, not realizing that smoke had been creeping into the house.

Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat and ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, called the firings a "Friday night coup" and an "attack on transparency and accountability".

Remove your boots and clothing at the door and clean them thoroughly so you don’t track ash into the house or leave it on furniture.