Thursday (two days ago). 4 AM. There was a knock on my door.
"Fire!"
A neighbor's condo was on fire. Big, roaring flames. Smoke was pouring out into the sky.
We stood, transfixed.
"What's that loud sound?" This was from my landlady.
"That's the fire."
(I didn't know a fire was so loud.)
We stepped outside, but not too close. The firefighters had arrived at this point. Someone had a hose on the conflagration. Others had a ladder and had climbed up to the roof.
There was a group on the bridge, watching. One lady said she'd gotten singed. It was her home where the fire started. A charger exploded. Something about a generator?
Had everyone gotten out? Yes, the conversation turned to how all those effected had made it to safety. Well, almost everyone. Later in the day I heard of the lady's two cats who were missing. Apparently they got out (fingers crossed), but no one had seen them since.
The flames died down. Eventually, it appeared that the fire was out.
For the next couple hours, I heard workmen, or at least their machines. They boarded up the sliding doors. I heard that various people came through, checking the cause, and setting things to as right as they can be for the moment.
I did go to work. After getting home, I got my own picture of the devastation.
I focused on the tree in this image. Yup, the tree also sported some flames.
(I had a post all set up with a pretty image of rocks surrounding a water feature in my condo complex for today. And then things got interesting. And I could make it work for R, so...)
And it made the local news:
I fully intend to do something innocuous for X next week. Just a picture. No story. But I planned to do that this week too. And last week. And the week before. Sigh.
I hope you are having an uneventful Saturday.
Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter
What a horrible way to get woken up but thank goodness you are ok. Is this unit close to yours? I assume it is pretty close since you were woke and told to leave.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't told to leave, just to be ready. It was close enough that if it had gotten out of control, it would have gotten to me. It was far enough away that now that the fire's out, it didn't impact me at all.
DeleteThat's an alarming fire indeed!
ReplyDeleteIt was.
DeleteWow, that was scary! I'm so glad it looks like it was limited to just the one unit (for the most part). I sure hope the cats are found hiding in some bushes. I've heard that fires are loud. I recognize the pond you've shared in past posts!
ReplyDeleteTwo units. Each floor is a different unit. And I hear that one behind those (not shown) was also effected. I have not heard where the cats are yet. I hope they've been found and word just hasn't gotten to me.
DeleteJamie (jannghi.blogspot.com):
ReplyDeleteThat sounds scary indeed! Glad you are OK.
It was.
DeleteI am glad you are OK and that no one (including, I hope, the cats) was seriously injured. I witnessed a major fire in New York City (Staten Island) being taken back from a Scout trip. Just coincidentally, it was on April 20, 1963, and I remember the smoke and how loud it was.
ReplyDeleteThese things are scary.
DeleteOmg. Glad everyone is ok, but the loss of those units …devastating
ReplyDeleteYeah, they look terrible right now. But I'm sure once they get people working on restoring them, they'll look great.
Deletethecontemplativecat here. Wow. Up close and personal. Glad you and your apt are safe. That w ill take time to clean up and rebuild.
ReplyDeleteIt will.
DeleteI'm happy your unit wasn't destroyed. That's a serious fire, the cats may be found dead eventually in the carnage.
ReplyDeleteOne (Jack) was found Friday hiding in a neighbor's closet. He's been reunited with his person. The other (Luna) is still unaccounted for. What I heard was that they were seen escaping during the fire, so the belief is they both made it out of the fire alive.
DeleteI started watching the news story from your blog, and as I was watching it, I heard a siren (probably from an ambulance) racing past my house. I'm glad all the people were safe.
ReplyDeleteYeah. That was the first question we all had. Because it looks so terrible.
DeleteHmm, a knock on the door at 4 am is no good news. I'm glad it wasn't your condo. The flames on the video are very impressive.
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrible story! Thank goodness everyone got out, though. Fingers crossed for the kitties.
ReplyDeleteOne has been found, so hopefully the other one will turn up soon.
DeleteHi Liz - what a shock ... I'm glad it wasn't nearer or that your home was involved. Thankfully it seems people and animals escaped, and the tree will recover. Glad all is well - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI'm glad no humans died and hope the cats find their family.
ReplyDeleteOne was found. I haven't heard about the other one yet.
Delete