The morning of Wednesday, March 11th while I was in my cubicle in Providence with a colleague, my cell phone began to vibrate out of control. One or two texts - fine, no big deal. This, however, was not just one or two texts. It was so out of control that my colleague asked if I'd like her to step out so I could handle things. I said no. Whatever it was could wait.
Just then, I began to get IMs from colleagues on my computer screen. Finally, I told my colleague that I should probably see what the texts and IMs were about. She obliged.
Friends, colleagues and ex-flames (pun intended) from the Warwick area were notifying me that a building in my condo complex was on fire, but they didn't know which building it was and, therefore, didn't know if it were mine or not.
Panic set in.
I Googled "Warwick condo fire" and a photo very similar to the below came up. Holy crap!
I continued my meeting because what the heck was I supposed to do? I had taken the bus in to work that morning so I didn't have an easy way home...and it wasn't my building that was ablaze.
About five minutes later, my good friend walked to my desk to confront me about why I hadn't answered her calls, texts or IMs. She put an end to my meeting and said she'd drive me home. Thankfully, someone told me what to do because I was still in panic/disbelief mode.
While I assumed that the smoke would be visible from the highway, I was wrong. It wasn't until we were off the off-ramp and on the main road that I saw billowing grey smoke. The traffic was extremely heavy.
We parked a street away and walked over to the complex. I asked one of the officers if I was able to get into my apartment. After telling him which building I lived in, he said yes. Phew!
Before walking into my apartment, my morale support and I took some time to gawk at the scene - one I'll never forget. There were neighbors in their pajamas, neighbors in American Red Cross vans, neighbors with their newborn baby in a baby carrier, and neighbors crying in the parking lot watching everything they had go up in flames. There were police cruisers, ambulances, fire engines and news crews. A scene like that really makes you thankful for everything you have...and not just the material things.
We went into my place, which thankfully did not smell of smoke, but was dark and spooky. I quickly grabbed two bags of things - one overnight bag just in case the electric wasn't back on by later that night and I needed to spend the night elsewhere, and one bag of things that one might take if there was a chance of fire in their own home.
While this blog is to tell of the story of how I found out and how I reacted to the fire, it is also partially a comedy about what I packed in that second bag.
- Birth certificate, social security card, passport and other important documents;
- Special photographs of family that are no longer with us; and
- Herman the duck
The fire took the whole building down. The below photo was taken the morning of Thursday, March 12th.
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While I don't have expensive things or clothes, or satchels of gold, the things I have I have for a reason and I'd be sad if they were gone forever. Yes, I am fully aware that material possessions are not what matters but imagine having nothing to your name but the outfit you have on right now. Long story short - be thankful.
