I woke up to a buzz. Distant, high-pitched, annoying, buzz. Not my alarm. Groggy and tired... what is it? Wander through apartment, looking for source. It's coming from the hall. Look at tile floor below my entrance door... flashing red reflected from the hall. Crap! Fire alarm. Yeah, that's right, they forgot to hook up the alarms INSIDE the apartments on the top floor. I'm told they all come through loud and clear with flashing lights on the other floors. Every other time it's gone off has been a false alarm. I'm tired. What should I do? I don't hear people moving around... but it is a weekday, more people at work right now. Hmmm, so tired, maybe I'll go back to bed and peek out a window. Yah, that sounds right. Well, I don't see any smoke rising. No firetrucks... hmm, I guess they haven't had time to get here either. There's one girl all dressed in her outdoor clothes standing alone by the street. Can't see anyone else milling around outside, but I don't have a great view of the parking lot either. What should I do? I should go to the bathroom... No, I should wait, what if there's a real fire, I should be getting ready to go outside. But I have to use the bathroom, and if its a fire I might not get a chance for a while. No, I really shouldn't be using plumbing or electricity now... right? Can't I just go back to bed? Wait, do I smell something? Is that my heater kicking in or a faint smell of smoke? Get dressed. Socks are a good start. PJs aren't warm enough, put on proper clothes. Okay, now skipants. Man, am I hungry! Maybe I should eat? No, not a priority now. I'd really like to go to the bathroom... No, going outside! Maybe I'll look out the other window, see if anything is happening. I really haven't smelled anything like smoke in the last minute or so. Swish, swish, swish, walk in skipants to the window. Hmmm, someone just came and picked up the girl standing outside. Should I call the manager of the building, have them come check things out? Surely someone has called him already! I'll sit and watch for a bit.... There he is, pulling his truck right up to the door. Wait for it.... wait for it.... ah, the buzzing has stopped! Well, I made the right decision not to go outside! Now what? Bathroom! ... that's a weird noise, must be air in the water pipes. Turn on taps in sink, sputtering... yup lots of air in water pipes! There wasn't a fire, was there? Oh, I hear the elevator. Is it safe to use the elevator? Things must be okay for sure then. Good! I think I'll have some breakfast.
Otherwise entitled: How I respond to a fire alarm when I'm tired and it's cold out!
No comments:
Post a Comment