Yesterday morning at around 5:30 a.m., the garage in the building next to mine caught fire. I awoke to my boyfriend screaming, "GET UP, GET UP!! There's a fire!!!" After scrambling around to find my glasses, my sweatshirt, my cell phone... knocking over a plant and breaking its pot in the process, I was able to get out of my apartment and down the stairs (after slipping on the wet concrete twice in my haste to leave.) At first I couldn't tell that just the garage was on fire. The flames were so large that the entire back of the apartment could have been affected. My hands were shaking and I didn't know what to do, didn't know where we should go. Instinct said "run!" but curiosity said, "hey, stay awhile and check it out..." It looked like our building was going to be fine, especially since there were now four large fire trucks parked outside. People slowly came out of the building in their pajamas and started huddling together near the street. I've never been more frightened. I wasn't scared enough to stay put, though. Besides my cell phone and sweatshirt, I grabbed my camera. I ran back towards my building's garage, which is adjacent to the one that was burning. My hands were still shaking, and it felt strange standing just yards away from where four people's cars were being completely destroyed. I felt like I shouldn't be there, it probably wasn't safe, but no one was telling me to stand back so I stayed. And I wanted to take the pictures. It looked like it was under control, but the more I think about it, the more I realize it was probably a bad decision to be so close. What if a car exploded? And can someone explain to me what those hatchets are for?
In about an hour the fire was under control. As the sun came up, the firemen began to pump the water out from the flooded garage. The cars were still there-- four completely charred, and three melted and water logged-- and the area was taped off for an investigation. The firemen, exhausted and grumpy, packed up their hoses and drove off in their trucks, while water flowed through the gutters down the street. All this and it was only 7:00 a.m.
I still don't have any idea how the fire started, though I'm doubtful it was an accident. How else could something like that start so early in the morning? In addition, there was a similar fire like this across the street less than a month ago. Coincidence? Luckily, my garage is gated (the other two weren't) so hopefully that's at least a small deterrent for something happening here....
