h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I had an interesting night last night -- my place almost burned down.

Short story is that the fan in the main house bathroom ceiling shorted and caught fire, and there's now a large hole in the roof over their bathroom and hallway, which doesn't quite share roof space with my wall, thankfully. Dumb damn cats wouldn't come out, and I couldn't crawl under the bed to get them, so I left the security door and the front door open for them, then stood outside calling them until I got chased out front by the fireman. Fortunately I didn't get any smoke in, so they're okay. The fire station is a block and a half from here, at my street and Melrose, so the neighbor *ran* down to them and got them, after calling 911 -- otherwise we might have lost the place in the minutes waiting for the firetrucks to get dispatched.

Oddly enough, I can't get to sleep tonight...neither the neighbor's nor my smoke detectors went off. Damn things go off when I boil water, but when I *needed* them?

Damn that Freddy, when's he straighten out again?

Glad you're ok and the cats are as well

Glad no one was harmed.

What a scare. I'm so glad things weren't any worse than they were. How much damage do you have?

Good to hear that you and the cats are OK and none of your posessions are damaged. I have no faith in smoke alarms either, cook some toast they go off , in a real fire they would just melt.

I'm only now realizing how lucky I am -- if my neighbors hadn't been coming home at just that time from clubbing, I wouldn't have known until too late to get effective help or not at all. Their part of the building was full of smoke, but no smoke smell made it into my little back of the house apartment -- and my smoke alarms both needed batteries, even though they worked fine a couple of weeks ago. I think I'll be checking my batteries more than once a year from now on!

Even after the fire was put down and ash was all over the roof and on the back driveway outside my door, there was *no* smell of smoke in the place -- although during the event, both front doors were wide open to outside. When I went in to look at the damage yesterday, I also saw that the wall under the removed roof over the bath and hallway is only 2 feet from my adjoining door to their house.

I'm also concerned that I couldn't get the cats out, when it came right down to it. When I have to get on the floor, it can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes for me to get up without something sturdy to hang on to. Adrenaline didn't help. I tried to reach under the bed for them but knew I'd have been trapped if I got on the floor.

My *one* and only cat carrier was in the top of the closet. First, I'm getting another carrier with a stock of their treats in the back so they'll get in, then I'm enrolling in a gym to beef up!