On this day, 9th February 1709, a catastrophic fire broke out at the home of the Wesley family in Epworth.
Mehetabel, one of the seven daughters of Samuel and Susanna, woke in the middle of the night to find the beams above her bed smoldering. Rousing the family and staff, the household rushed outside to escape. Susanna Wesley recalled "we had no time to take our clothes, but ran all naked...we got the street door open, but the wind drove the flame with such violence that none could stand against it. I tried thrice to get through the fire but was driven back. I made another attempt and waded through the fire, which did me no other hurt than to scorch my legs and face."
Only after the family escaped did they realise that five year old John was missing. Thankfully, John appeared at an upstairs window and a human ladder was created to pull him out just before the roof fell in and the fire consumed the rest of the house.
John recalled the experience, "when they brought me into the house where my father was, he cried out, "Come, neighbors, let us kneel down; let us give thanks to God! He has given me all my eight children; let the house go; I am rich enough."
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