Up in Flames
Question: What do you get when you have 6 cords and Christmas lights all plugged into one power strip?
Answer: An apartment up in flames. 
Ah, Christmas 2009....one to remember. We went to Genny and Randy's in the morning. Then we hustled over to my sisters to meet my family. Then we headed over to my Grandma's. Exhausted, we finally made it home at 7:00 pm. The phone rings at 7:02....I don't answer it. The person leaves a voice mail. 2 minutes later Sarah's phone rings and her brother tells her that he thinks the apartments are on fire. She laughs (mainly because he lives in one of them) and she thinks it's another one of his pranks. She hangs up and then tells me the story. I grab my phone and call back the person that just left me a message. He tells me that he's standing back watching flames shoot 30 feet over the apartments. I put on some old clothes and throw the pregnant lady in the car. We pull up to find complete madness. Bolton Road is entirely blocked off. Fire trucks are everywhere with lights strobing. (this was the first time that I had the best Christmas lights in the area). Firemen are on the roof and in the road hosing the place down. My phone starts ringing off the hook from people calling to tell me about what I'm looking at. I make it up front and talk to a couple of the renters. I'm told that everyone made it out alright; so I have that going for me....which is nice. As I'm milling around, I hear a random "Hey ----sucker". I spin around and see Roush in full firefighter gear covered in soot. We have a small laugh and then I'm given the low down on how the fire may have started: Option 1: the tenant had a massive pile of cords plugged in together and she mentioned that she "felt it getting really hot" a few days before the fire, or, Option 2: the tenant may have lit a cigarette and then sat it down....she can't remember. She was home when the fire started and apparently tried to put it out with a few buckets of water before calling the fire department. To cap off the night, I had to sit and watch the building for several hours after the fire department left to make sure it didn't start back up and burn the rest of the apartments. It looks like I may have to take three of the apartments down to the ground before I can rebuild. Once again, Karma is kicking me in the crotch. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Answer: An apartment up in flames. Ah, Christmas 2009....one to remember. We went to Genny and Randy's in the morning. Then we hustled over to my sisters to meet my family. Then we headed over to my Grandma's. Exhausted, we finally made it home at 7:00 pm. The phone rings at 7:02....I don't answer it. The person leaves a voice mail. 2 minutes later Sarah's phone rings and her brother tells her that he thinks the apartments are on fire. She laughs (mainly because he lives in one of them) and she thinks it's another one of his pranks. She hangs up and then tells me the story. I grab my phone and call back the person that just left me a message. He tells me that he's standing back watching flames shoot 30 feet over the apartments. I put on some old clothes and throw the pregnant lady in the car. We pull up to find complete madness. Bolton Road is entirely blocked off. Fire trucks are everywhere with lights strobing. (this was the first time that I had the best Christmas lights in the area). Firemen are on the roof and in the road hosing the place down. My phone starts ringing off the hook from people calling to tell me about what I'm looking at. I make it up front and talk to a couple of the renters. I'm told that everyone made it out alright; so I have that going for me....which is nice. As I'm milling around, I hear a random "Hey ----sucker". I spin around and see Roush in full firefighter gear covered in soot. We have a small laugh and then I'm given the low down on how the fire may have started: Option 1: the tenant had a massive pile of cords plugged in together and she mentioned that she "felt it getting really hot" a few days before the fire, or, Option 2: the tenant may have lit a cigarette and then sat it down....she can't remember. She was home when the fire started and apparently tried to put it out with a few buckets of water before calling the fire department. To cap off the night, I had to sit and watch the building for several hours after the fire department left to make sure it didn't start back up and burn the rest of the apartments. It looks like I may have to take three of the apartments down to the ground before I can rebuild. Once again, Karma is kicking me in the crotch. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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