Leisure Scary Experience, Waheguru Ji Was With Me

[Harkiran Kaur]

Not last night, but Monday night (actually early Tuesday morning) at 1:00 am the fire alarm went off in my apartment building. Our building has been having false alarms lately, so I got up and got dressed leisurely... not quickly by any means. I got my pet ferret into his carrier, though I expected the alarm to stop within a few minutes like it always did. But this time, it did not. I heard sirens approaching outside, and thought nothing of it... actually I acknowledged them but thought they were for somewhere else. I was wrong...

I started hearing people leaving in the hallway, so I went looking for the cat and could not find her anywhere. She was so scared of the alarm she hid so well and would not come when I called so it was like she vanished. I looked in the hallway and smelled the smoke, and had to leave her. I went toward my usual exit and it was blocked by firefighters and hoses as they ran up the stairs so I had to double back by my apartment and use a different exit. I went back into the apartment because it hit me that this was actually happening and was real. I did one last go over of the apartment, and still could not find her. I had to leave.... I saw the flames as I left the building in the next section over!!!

I was so distraught and upset my Mom came up to my place in the middle of the night and had to calm me down. My fur baby was still in a burning building and I left her there! I got the ferret out, but my cat Maya was still in there... I sat in my Moms car for a couple hours until I could find out more information.

The fire was in the next section over and there are fire doors between my section and that one and I hope also fire wall. But anyway, the firefighters got the fire out very quickly! It was started by someone BBQing at 1:00 am on their balcony. Top floor, and the fire went into the attic / roof and started to spread quickly horizontally. They stopped it so only two apartments were fire damaged, along with their adjoining balconies, and the roof and attic over those two apartments. The water damage from fighting the fire however, has rendered the entire section of 42 apartments unliveable and everyone was given only 1.5 days to move everything out.
I feel soooooo very lucky. My section was untouched, my apartment is ok (aside from mild smoke smell) and my cat Maya I found her. I was allowed back in at 4:30 am and found her under the blankets on my bed, scrunched up so small that it only looked like the blankets were puffed up a bit. She had been so still I had no idea. I looked under and behind every single piece of furniture I had but I had not thought to look under my blankets!

I do not have to move... my whole section of the building is ok...

Here is a news story, and the photo is actually mine. I gave it to the reporter. as he did not have access to this view. I took it from inside the building on my floor (5th) looking straight to the damaged balcony. The media had to take from the ground and it was impossible to see the detail of the damage.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...tenants-out-of-apartment-for-months-1.2643027

Nobody was hurt in the fire... everyone got out. And only two apartments suffered fire damage. Pretty much everyone else (even the ones that have wet floors and sheetrock etc) their belongings are ok as well (but smell of smoke). Very fortunate we have such awesome firefighters here!

 

[Admin]

Glad that you are OK! My heart goes for the families, who have to move overnight... BBQ on third floor, that's a shocker!

 

[Ishna]

Wow Akasha Ji, I'm so glad everyone is ok, including you, your ferret and your cat!

 

[Harkiran Kaur]

Well, 52 apartments had to move out by Thursday afternoon. They are all gone... people I saw every day were forced to find a place in the city on very short notice. I feel really bad for them. The fire only damaged two apartments, but the water damage was severe and the entire section has to be gutted. The water went down inside the walls and ceilings etc. The sheetrock is ruined. Since my entrance is on the end of the damaged section, when I come in and out right now, I can smell the mould starting (if they can't get it completely dry in only a couple of days that's what happens, and is why everyone had only 1.5 days to move... the mould is dangerous and toxic).

Though I do not have to move, I am finding it difficult to sleep... I keep thinking if I fall asleep, the alarm will go off again. And having to leave my cat there during a real fire, is still haunting me. I always said I would NEVER leave my animals in a fire... but I spent 20 minutes looking for her, and finally had to go, they wouldn't let me stay to look any more. She had hid so well, it was like she vanished. I was so upset my Mom had to come up to my place to calm me down, and we sat in her car until I found out I could go back in. It's 5 days since the fire, and I slept maybe 2 hours each night since.... I will be ok I know it will just take a little time to get the nervous feeling out. The good thing is, the fire chief was praising the sprinkler system in this building and said that it saved the building from much worse damage. Sure there was water damage, but most people's belongings were fine... even though they had to move, at least their belongings never got damaged and only two apartments had severe damage where the fire was. The rest only had wet floors and then the water inside the walls and ceilings.

 

[Ishna]

Check out pet locator tags, they make them small enough for cat collars. You can make it make a sound so you can follow where the sound is coming from, or you can use the controller as a detector. If you're just trying to find her in your apartment it shouldn't be too difficult with a device like that.

Also you might want to put some of your valuable stuff in plastic containers if you think any of those mould spores are gonna migrate down the hall. :/

 

[Harkiran Kaur]

Check out pet locator tags, they make them small enough for cat collars. You can make it make a sound so you can follow where the sound is coming from, or you can use the controller as a detector. If you're just trying to find her in your apartment it shouldn't be too difficult with a device like that.

Also you might want to put some of your valuable stuff in plastic containers if you think any of those mould spores are gonna migrate down the hall. :/

The mould is beyond the fire doors. No water got into my section. The only thing in this section was mild smoke smell in the hallway (not the apartment though) which is gone now.

I will look for the locator tags. That's a good idea!