“What would you save
if your house was burning down?”
This question is often asked to get a feel for what you feel
is important in life. Would it be something materialistic – fancy jewelry, cell
phone, laptop. Or maybe it would be something sentimental – baby blanket,
pictures, wedding dress.
Hypothetical? Hopefully. But according to the National Fire
Protection Association, the chances your household will have a reported home
fire in an average lifetime are 1 in 4. That means that 25% of people will have
to make the decision of what to save – and sadly, I am in that 25%. That means
that you 3 readers are safe. You’re welcome.
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| Happy on New Years Eve |
This is my story.
New Years Eve was a magical night full of good food, great
friends, and a lot of booze. Anticipating a NY Day hangover, I went to the
store the day before and stocked up on food to make brunch for Chad, my sister
Kim, and my roommate Jersey (all staying with me that night). I had big plans
for NY Day – Sit on the couch in my comfies, not wash my hair, not leave my
house, and watch an entire season of Newsroom.
It was going to be the perfect day...
Despite the fact that we went to bed at about 4am, my internal
clock woke me up at 9am to start the day. Lying in bed in a half-drunk haze, I
noticed a faint burning smell. I woke up Chad, who noticed the smell too, but
he was not concerned – clearly that was coming from Chinese Neighbs next door.
But I was not convinced. I fumbled around for my glasses and decided to double
check that I didn’t leave my Christmas Tree lights on, or start the oven with
the intention of making a drunken pizza. Maybe I was being paranoid, but better
safe than sorry.
When I opened my bedroom door, I was instantly greeted with
a cloud of thick black smoke. I ran into the living room to see what the issue
was, and the smoke got thicker as I went down the hallway. Quickly determining
that there was nothing in my house causing the smoke, my next thought – we have
to get out. I started screaming and woke up Kim who was sleeping on the couch.
Now…one thing I forgot to mention was that in my half-drunken/confused state, I
decided to go investigate the smell sans clothes. So I am standing in the
middle of the living room, naked, waking up my sister with a shrilling frightful
scream.
I headed back to the bedroom pounding on Jersey’s bedroom
door to wake up and bust into my bedroom to wake up Chad. I just kept
screaming, “We have to get out! Wake up, we have to get out!” I put on the
first clothes I could find (a nightie, these seasonal fleece pants, and my
poofy coat) and ran out the door screaming. As I headed down the stairs, I
could tell that the fire was coming from the floor below me and I when I made
it outside I noticed many of my neighbors had already evacuated. I also noticed
that it was the coldest day of the year, and that my boobs were hanging out, so
I zipped up my coat and waited for my friends.
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| A Fireman and his Big Hose. No Senior Citizens were harmed in this fire. |
What seemed like a lifetime later (maybe 7 seconds), they
still were not downstairs. So I vampire covered my face (like this) and ran
back up to my condo. Maybe I didn’t make it clear enough because they were
still in the condo looking for shoes, going to the bathroom, finding their
purses – GUYS WE HAVE TO GET OUT!!!! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! On my way back down, I pounded on my
neighbors’ doors and luckily Kim and Jersey followed me out. But, wait, WHERE
IS CHAD?! I proceeded to stand outside and scream his name on the top of my
lungs. I thought to myself “He needs to stop being a hero and just save himself!!”
Turns out he was saving our cell phones and his contact case….quite the hero.
Anyways, after me screeching CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDD up the stairs for a few
minutes, he made his way down and we were all safe.
I started to calm down a little as the firemen arrived. It
seemed like all my neighbors were out and I held the gate to my building open
as the firemen rushed to the building with big crow bars, big hoses, and big hats. We
were observing how many of my neighbors were clearly asleep as this all hit. One guy
wasn’t wearing any shoes, no one had brushed their hair, and everyone was
unprepared for how cold it was. But it wasn’t until someone noted how many of
my neighbors had pets that it dawned on me. I LEFT TORTUGA INSIDE.
Crazy Panicky Carrie came back into full force. As the firemen
ran by me I started to scream at them. “There’s a turtle on the 3rd
floor!! THERE’S A TURTLE ON THE 3rd FLOOR!!!!!!” Right at that
moment, my neighbors walked by me with a three-day old baby. Three. Days. Old.
And I realized that there may be more important people to save than my turtle.
Plus, I was assured that his ability to breathe underwater would help him make
it through – which, to save you the suspense, it did. Tugs is fine.
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| Not so Happy on New Years Day |
After about an hour outside in the cold, coughing and
confused, we were let back into the building. Walking up I saw that the first
and second floors were a little smoky and had their doors busted in. Overall,
very minimal damage. Then I got to my floor…or specifically, my unit. My furniture
had all been moved around, pulled away from walls and vents. There was a layer
of black soot covering my floors, furniture and belongings. And my oh my, was
that place smelly and smoky.
We were still in pretty high spirits at this point, watching
funny YouTube videos and singing some great fire songs – We Didn’t Start the
Fire, Eternal Flame, Disco Inferno, Burning Down the House. But reality hadn’t
set in yet of the actual damage to my condo, and I did not know what was in store.
What I did know was that I was glad I had my insurance agent’s number on
speed-dial. Time to call Keller Insurance…
What caused the fire was a furnace explosion in the unit
below me. I am not sure how this happens, but what I learned from this is that
if your furnace is making a lot of strange noises, call someone immediately. Also
I learned that if my house is burning down, the thing I would save…is my
friends.
