Not the kind of roaring Winter fire I want!

I think part of my building may have just been on fire…

I got home and had barely sat down when I heard sirens outside along 16th St. It’s pretty common so I didn’t give it much thought until I heard the very urgent siren/horn combo of a truck trying to get through traffic except that it didn’t fade off into the distance as usual. I looked out the window and the street below was completely clear except for three fire trucks and one emergency services vehicle. A truck was spooling out hose behind it and two firemen were running after it. I took the stairs down and there was another fire truck behind our building. I didn’t see or smell smoke, there was no excessive heat, and I saw other residents who also had no clue what was happening. Some firemen rushed in past us, but the officer at the door didn’t respond that we needed to evacuate just yet. The building’s fire alarm wasn’t going off.

Of course I grabbed my camera, but left my cell phone behind. And after being down there for a few mins, I saw Jhim and Richard on the sidewalk. Jhim was trying to call me to let me know that my building might be on fire. 🙂 After a bit of chatting, I walked back upstairs and ran into Ms. Lee who is the keeper of the spare unit keys. She and Raul were helping the firemen check apartments.

Apparently a unit on the 6th floor, not directly below me, was where the incident started. I imagine they were able to contain it as there was no call for anyone to evacuate and now the trucks and personnel have all left. Still, a very odd thing to come home to. And of course I’m down there thinking, “You have got to be kidding me, barely a week after I buy a new tv and the building’s about to catch on fire!”

Everything seems fine now, though I’m sure there will be some messages passing back and forth across the condo’s e-mail list.