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Saturday became an... eventful day for me. I have weekends off, was lazing with the cat, and decided to take a shower and wash my hair before an online meeting for a community I GM for was due to start. I'm in the shower, washing away, when I smell that musky electrical burning smell. At first I wondered if it was something up with the taps, but when I shut them off I could still smell it, so I quickly finished and hopped out. Smoke detectors in the hall were going off so I just threw my dirty clothes on fast and ran to check my computer.
Everything in the bedroom where the computer was seemed fine. I thought... maybe the neighbors burned dinner. Then I hear sirens. So I throw on a shirt, grab my purse, grab my laptop bag and start freaking out a touch. I see my cat by the doorway resting peacefully and after locating her I notice black smoke is rolling in the air vents. CUE PANIC! I go to grab the cat and hear BANG BANG BANG... firemen had been in building and had broken down my apartment door. Cat bolts. I curse and rush out and am asked if I'm the only on there (yes) and told essentially to GTFO and barely given time to slip my shoes on and run. I get to the hall and smoke is everywhere. The walls and stair railings were piping hot. I couldn't breath. It hurt so bad. I get outside just as firemen break one of the glass doors on the balcony above my apartment so I'm showered in glass.
Another guy had gotten out just before me and he freaks out, clinging to me and dragging me over to the other people clustered in the front yard around the firetrucks and paramedics. There is a tree that was cut down and is essentially a giant log, and I was shaky, so I sit there and go to swipe my hair out of my face... it was frozen. I called my mom and burst into tears freaking out and a paramedic wrapped me in a blanket and then got me into an ambulance to warm up.
There was a family in with me and they said they'd smelled electrical burning and went to check the room with their TV and computer and opened the door to rolling black smoke and moments later their whole living room engulfed in flame. They've had electrical issues so we are guessing there was an electrical fault in the building.
I got friends to pick me up and stayed the night with them and was told by my landlord that I'd have a new apartment the next day. Next day I finally find out that my apartment was essentially only smoke damaged and that I could come get a few things. Sort our that I'm going to have to pay to move to a temporary apartment that the landlord will put me up in, set up help for moving for this coming weekend, and then make arrangements to stay with another friend all this week (first friend only had a couch I could surf on since they have two kids and no spare bedrooms. Second friend has a spare room.) We get my valuables, clothes, computer, finally locate a very traumatized and scared kitty (poor thing!) and get me moved to the other friend.
Darn landlord lets me know where they want me to move and that it's handled by another landlord in the company. When I go to try and find his number online I see the reviews... drugs, robberies at gunpoint, broken heat and a/c, mice infestation, rotting decks... yeah no. So I've arranged to just pay my friends rent and stay here the 4-6 weeks my landlord thinks it'll take to renovate my former home. They have to gut and remodel the whole building since several units are destroyed.
At the very least, the kitty is finally adapting to where we are now. She can't leave this room (my cat has FIV and my friend has a cat that doesn't) which I can tell irks her a bit, but she's mostly just been snuggly. I'm stressed, frayed, worn out, hurting, coughing a bit still from the smoke damage but that's getting better, and just... just meh.
So yeah... dammit, 2016! I had high hopes for you and I spend the first week sick, have female issues as soon as I feel better and as soon as those let up my home half burns down. GAH!
TL;DR - APARTMENT FIRE FOR THE FAIL!
Everything in the bedroom where the computer was seemed fine. I thought... maybe the neighbors burned dinner. Then I hear sirens. So I throw on a shirt, grab my purse, grab my laptop bag and start freaking out a touch. I see my cat by the doorway resting peacefully and after locating her I notice black smoke is rolling in the air vents. CUE PANIC! I go to grab the cat and hear BANG BANG BANG... firemen had been in building and had broken down my apartment door. Cat bolts. I curse and rush out and am asked if I'm the only on there (yes) and told essentially to GTFO and barely given time to slip my shoes on and run. I get to the hall and smoke is everywhere. The walls and stair railings were piping hot. I couldn't breath. It hurt so bad. I get outside just as firemen break one of the glass doors on the balcony above my apartment so I'm showered in glass.
Another guy had gotten out just before me and he freaks out, clinging to me and dragging me over to the other people clustered in the front yard around the firetrucks and paramedics. There is a tree that was cut down and is essentially a giant log, and I was shaky, so I sit there and go to swipe my hair out of my face... it was frozen. I called my mom and burst into tears freaking out and a paramedic wrapped me in a blanket and then got me into an ambulance to warm up.
There was a family in with me and they said they'd smelled electrical burning and went to check the room with their TV and computer and opened the door to rolling black smoke and moments later their whole living room engulfed in flame. They've had electrical issues so we are guessing there was an electrical fault in the building.
I got friends to pick me up and stayed the night with them and was told by my landlord that I'd have a new apartment the next day. Next day I finally find out that my apartment was essentially only smoke damaged and that I could come get a few things. Sort our that I'm going to have to pay to move to a temporary apartment that the landlord will put me up in, set up help for moving for this coming weekend, and then make arrangements to stay with another friend all this week (first friend only had a couch I could surf on since they have two kids and no spare bedrooms. Second friend has a spare room.) We get my valuables, clothes, computer, finally locate a very traumatized and scared kitty (poor thing!) and get me moved to the other friend.
Darn landlord lets me know where they want me to move and that it's handled by another landlord in the company. When I go to try and find his number online I see the reviews... drugs, robberies at gunpoint, broken heat and a/c, mice infestation, rotting decks... yeah no. So I've arranged to just pay my friends rent and stay here the 4-6 weeks my landlord thinks it'll take to renovate my former home. They have to gut and remodel the whole building since several units are destroyed.
At the very least, the kitty is finally adapting to where we are now. She can't leave this room (my cat has FIV and my friend has a cat that doesn't) which I can tell irks her a bit, but she's mostly just been snuggly. I'm stressed, frayed, worn out, hurting, coughing a bit still from the smoke damage but that's getting better, and just... just meh.
So yeah... dammit, 2016! I had high hopes for you and I spend the first week sick, have female issues as soon as I feel better and as soon as those let up my home half burns down. GAH!
TL;DR - APARTMENT FIRE FOR THE FAIL!
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