the rix mix

Weather has been bad for my week. Really wiped out.

Building fire alarm went off at 7 a.m., I was half-sleep with clock radio on news - fell asleep last night listening to weather report. I hate when I do that. Decided I would not run outside. This was foolish, I know, but the alarm has gone off here a number of times & has never involved an actual situation. Usually been tenants bumping into the red hallway box while moving furniture. The one real situation we had didn't set off the alarm & we called in it ourselves - a strong electric fire smell emanating from the first floor apt of a drunken guy who wouldn't open his door. He had fallen into beer sodden sleep while using his toaster oven. The fire dept had to kick in his door & then air out the building with a fan while we waited around out front. The landlord had been called, & he got an earful from us when he arrived. That tenant had been a problem in other ways, loud music & arguments, his undersized cat wandering the halls at night meowing. Not supposed to have cats, but nobody would care if they went unnoticed. Landlord promised to get the guy out of the building., Took a few months. A nice woman in the apt now who decorates her door for holidays & hosts birthday parties for her grandchildren. Quite an improvement.

I listened for other tenants, heard some doors open, no yelling. I got up, opened the door, smelled nothing. So I put on socks & flannel shirt & waited for the fire engines. Automatic two truck response to building alarms. If it was serious, firefighters would come through the building banging on doors & I'd be ready to go out the front, or out the window.

One of the fire trucks stopped in the intersection, & I could see out the window they weren't rushing to unpack equipment. I stuck my cellphone in my pocket, located my sneakers, but didn't put on jeans over my sweatpants or shut down the computer. I checked the current weather online. Frozen precip, ugh. The alarm stopped clanging. It had been clanging at least 15 minutes.

Then I wandered downstairs in my socks to find out who was to blame. Some of the resident women were in the hallway at bottom of the steps. "There he is," one of them said, "we were wondering about you. "

"I wasn't going outside until a third fire engine showed up."

At that moment, two firemen in their heavy coats & helmets came up from the basement, said goodbye as they passed. My neighbor walked in, unaware of anything, had just dropped his kids off at school, a 7:30 start.

I still don't know who or what set off the alarm, but it had something to do with a guy in a basement apt, & the landlord had already been called. I went back to bed for awhile.

Labels: Elizabeth NJ, home furnishings, weather