Oh I see now... you guys are talking about the loss of the firearms... when I said it was a lousy way to start a new year, I was talking about having to purchase a FORD...
Seriously... my deepest condolences on this firearms tragedy... and congrats for getting out safely with your family. It was the smartest thing you could have done.
I had the unfortunate experience of arriving on an accident scene on the Autostrada in northern Italy where a driver had fallen asleep at the wheel... in the front seat with him was his future son-in-law... both escaped from the vehicle and survived, but the occupants of the rear seat were rendered unconscience... the vehicle rode up a guard rail and sheared open the gas tank... the car went up in flames and the wife of the driver, the mother of the bride, and the bride were consumed within 3 minutes, despite our best efforts to enter the car and get them out. Other drivers who had stopped had to help me restrain the young man from attempting further rescue attempts (or a suicide attempt by going back to the car).
The rear doors were locked and the front seat area was engulfed in flames. The flames were so intense that we could stand no closer than about 50 feet... Both of the front seat occupants were taken via ambulance to a local hospital and treated for shock... I can only presume that they both required therapy for years...
The images of that night still haunt me.