I had an eventful Saturday afternoon:
I'm in the living room watching Psych on Netflix when I smell something burning. I jump up and make sure I've turned off the oven and the burners. All off, rice is slightly burnt, but not enough to cause alarm. I head back to the couch and notice that my bedroom is filled with smoke. I immediately start to panic. I rush to the bedroom and look around. No sign of fire. I unplug the air freshener from the wall, but it doesn't smell like what I've been looking for. I go next door to ask my neighbors if they smell anything. Nothing from their apartment, but when they walk into mine they also notice the haze and smell of something burning. We begin to knock on neighbors doors, but no one will answer. I call the property manager, again nothing. I call my friend next door to see if she's close to home and she is. She and her husband come into the apartment and by this point the smoke is so thick I dial 911.
After giving the operator a rundown and my location, she tells me to evacuate as soon as possible. I throw the leashes on the dogs and head to the hall closet for pillow cases. Luckily both cats were on my bed, so wrangling them into the pillow cases wasn't too much trouble. My friend has already taken the dogs, so I grab my cats, purse and laptop, take a quick look around and grab the quilt my mom made me and I leave with the front door open. At this point, I felt almost completely robotic. Now, thinking about it, I could have grabbed a few more important things, but my main concern were the pets. I handed the cats and my keys off to my friend who placed the cats in the car.
Two fire engines pull up and I start to shake and get a bit more anxious. I direct them to my apartment. The windows and door are open at this point and the smoke has started to clear, not before burning my eyes, though. They ask me a series of questions and look through my apartment. I text my boyfriend that my apartment might be on fire. I don't really know what else to do. One of the firemen went into the attic to see what was going on. Neighbors have filled the parking lot. For the first 15 minutes or so, the firefighters say they can't find anything. Then the one in the attic has someone go around to the back and they find the source. My AC/heating unit has burned up a belt and was only getting hotter. They shut it off. I'm a bit relieved because for a while it seemed like they didn't believe me. The AC/heating unit could have gotten hotter and with the smoke it caused, actually started a fire.
Its been about two hours since I thought my home was going to burn to the ground and I still feel uneasy. I don't think anything has ever scared me so much in my life. My friend asked why I put the cats in pillow cases. I told her I remembered reading about something about fire safety and if you have cats that's the easiest way to rescue them. I think my sister and I need to come up with a better plan, in case something does happen. i encourage everyone to have one as well.
Fire Escape Planning
Home Fire Prevention
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