Lyric discussion by kickstart71 

Cover art for Cool Dry Place lyrics by Traveling Wilburys, The

Certainly it's just a "story song", but I also think it may be referencing TOm Petty's house fire. Fairly certain it happened before this song came out, but if your home burns down, I could see having an experience something like the one told in the song. Just a guess.

It wouldn't be the first time that a fiery disaster has been made into a song eg. Smoke On The Water.