If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. (Harry Vaughan)

The fire alarm went off again this afternoon, but as usual we just ignored it. The alarms in the condos are extremely sensitive, and it's a common occurance to have the bells ringing throughout the complex. A couple of heads will pop out the doors along the corridor, checking to see if anyone is going to bother the guard downstairs for details. But mostly we just go about our normal life, doing whatever we were before the bells started.

Today, however, we actually had someone come around and tell us to evacuate. This time the fire was for real! Suddenly, I was faced with the decision of what needed to be saved in the precious minutes I had left in my home. Naturally the children were the first to be shoved out the door, with only moments allowed them to find their shoes. Next, my hair and teeth were brushed. (Okay, I discovered that I really am that vain. At least I resisted the temptation to change my clothes from the ratty house-work outfit I had on. Probably only because everything I like was in the wash.) I tried to grab the photo albums, but there were too many. And there wasn't time to pick just one or two. So I just grabbed the file with the birth certificates and immunizations, picked up Daisy (well, you didn't really think I'd leave my laptop behind, did you?) and ran downstairs to join the others.

The fire turned out to be confined to just one unit in the other building. A kitchen fire started when the tenants (yes, they were renters -- just further proof to the homeowner association that they need to rid themselves of the infestation of tenants) were cooking pigs knuckles. The fire was immediately put out, but just to be on the safe side the firefighters had to hack through the walls of that unit after they arrived on the scene to ensure everything was safe before they would allow us to return to our own apartments. Later the Red Cross came out to help the tenants relocate, since their unit was hacked apart and unlivable.

While I feel bad for the tenants involved, I'm also grateful that the excitement was limited to the one unit. But it's given me a lot to think about in terms of what's important. It's also taught us that just because someone keeps crying wolf, it doesn't mean that the wolf will never come.