Fire in the Hole!

Last night my apartment complex caught on fire.

At 6:45, I got a phone call from my friend Kelly.  

Her: "Erica, where are you?"

Me: "Rehearsals.  What's up?"

Kelly: "Diane says that the apartment complex across the street from Walgreens is on fire.  Isn't that where you live?"

Me: "Oh, shit!"

I then ran out of rehearsals, getting the info from Kelly.   Within a few minutes, I could see the smoke billowing - and I was 4 miles away.  In the 10 minutes it took me to get home, I called everyone - family, friends.  I needed someone to get to my apartment before me to get Wibble, if possible.  Andrea and Kelly, however, got the brunt of my panicked emotions.  I honestly don't know how I didn't wreck my car.

I come to Bay Area Blvd. and see the flames licking the sky.  Unfortunately, the streets are now blocked off so I pulled into a parking lot, grabbed my bag, and ran.  I could see that the fire was coming from the direction of my apartment.  Within 5 minutes of running, however, I could see that my apartment was fine, but the building next to mine was toast.

I then felt another swoosh of emotions - relief, fear, sadness, happiness.  I just stared (and took a picture with my phone).

I then had to maneuver my way to my apartment, dodging people, firemen, fire, water.  I ran upstairs, checked on my freaked out dog, and grabbed my camera.

I am still a nervous wreck.  The fire came too close to my home.  The wind was blowing, and the wind carried the flame to a fire truck, and the truck ended up catching on fire and getting destroyed.    Had the wind been blowing in the opposite direction, I would be homeless.  I have never felt so panicked in my life .  I just stood out there for a couple of hours, watching the building be utterly destroyed.  Today I feel the effects of the smoke - my lungs and head hurt, but thank God I'm alive and my apartment is still standing.  20 units were destroyed and it made every newscast and newspaper in the area.  Not a lot happens in Clear Lake, except for the occasional crazy woman killing or attempting to kill someone, so the fire was big news at school today (especially since it's 2 blocks away from school).

I walked into my apartment today and realized that I have a lot of stuff.  What would I have rescued, had I had the time?  What is really important to me?  What would be irreplaceable had the fire indeed traveled?  My friend Joe is the in the apartment next door to the fire - he has external damage, and came 2 feet away from losing everything.   Close calls really make you think, and last night I could barely sleep between the thinking and the emergency vehicles.  The fire wasn't completely extinguished until around 9:30-10, and then the bulldozers came in around 2 to knock what was left down so that no one would get hurt later.  Today there is a fence around it, yet the rubble is still heartbreakingly there and the smell is still strong.  

No one died, but the fire was so quick that people didn't have time to take a lot of things with them.  Our complex is old, with no firewalls between the units and an open/shared attic, which created a chimney connecting the apartments.  

People are asked, "If you could save 5 things from a burning building, what would they be?"  I always answered, "Assuming my dog would get out by herself, I'd take my laptop, a picture of my mom and dad, my file box, my favorite book, and my jewelry box."  Having lived through almost having to make that choice for real, I realize that I would've grabbed my dog, laptop and picture.  Everything else is minor.  I was terrified for my dog.

I'm still shaking.  It was too close for comfort.  I felt the fire.  I smelled the smoke and chemicals.  My feet splashed in the water.  I heard the roofs caving.  I saw the flames.