Yesterday the Sunday afternoon quiet in our neighborhood was interrupted by the sound of fire engines responding to a call - just across the street and 4 houses down from my house!
My heart was in my throat as I saw firemen in full gear running down the street past my house, fire axes in their hands.
When you live in a row house as we do, anytime the fire department responds to a call on the street, EVERYBODY pays attention!
Neighbors watching, asking each other questions no one could answer yet...
The owners of the affected house were out of town for the Christmas holiday; unfortunately for them the firemen had to chop down their door, and also break a window in a second floor bedroom to gain entry to the house.
Soon as the door was opened, their poor dog made a run for it, he was so frightened!
At this point the firemen weren't sure where the fire was, so they were also on the roof with others in the alley in back of the house. They also entered the house next door, no one was home there either.
This was just what I saw on the front of the house, who knows what they had to do at the back!
It turns out the fire started in the basement bathroom, faulty wiring I think; the owners had arranged for someone to feed and walk their dog while they were gone.
Nobody knew how to reach the owners, and by this time the dog sitter had already come and gone for the day.
More than eight fire engines responded to this call, as well as two EMS units and the battalion chief. Because of their quick response, the actual fire was all contained in the basement with smoke damage in other parts of the house.
Those poor people, having to return from Christmas vacation to this! But thank God their house is still standing!
Blog at ya later, sew forth and sew on til then...
Poor dog! How scary is that! Fires here put us on high alert too because houses are so close together. My neighbor's gas water heater is on the outside of their house .. between our two houses. When it started making noise and giving off a smell, I had to tell them for their own good as well as ours.
ReplyDeleteomg gas is so dangerous! Here, they respond super-fast if you suspect a leak.
DeleteScary, scary. We now live in fire country and after all the forest fires this summer, I definitely have a new appreciation for those who fight them. The biggest one made all the national news, the Carlton Complex fire and the town of Pateros, Washington that was devastated by a firestorm that overcame the town in literally the blink of an eye.
ReplyDelete