Grrr!  I don't sleep well, and rarely more than 2 or 3 hours, so the one time I finally manage to get into a good sound sleep, what happens?  The freaking fire alarm goes off!!!!!

I hear doors slamming and people running around in the halls, and loud music, so I figured it was probably the idiots across the hall from me and a false alarm as usual.  However I was wide awake by this time so I mosied into the kitchen to try and figure out what to have for dinner, and to watch my nifty homemade apple cider fruit fly trap (it really works!!)

While I'm in the kitchen intently watching fruit flies fly to their demise (what can I say, I'm easily amused, lol), the fire alarm is shut off and I hear voices in the hall and by the sounds of things people returning to their apartments. Then I thought I heard radios and men talking.

I decided to poke my nose out of the door to see what was going on and what do I find? My hallway filled with thick smoke and 2 firemen walking down the hall towards my apartment.  I asked if I everything was ok or if I had to leave. I didn't really relish the  idea of having to find my way down 8 floors of stairs,  not only because of my health, but  because I have 2 cats and one doesn't take kindly to being shoved into a duffle bag and carried around,  LOL

Anyway, they told me to stay in my apartment and the fire is out and that they are just making sure that the apartments are clear of smoke. After inspecting mine they told me the fire was on the 3rd floor and that I should be ok in my apartment so long as I keep the door closed.

The first thing that came to my mind when they said the fire was on the 3rd floor was "AGAIN?!!"

Two years ago next month, someone on the 3rd floor fell asleep on their couch with a lit cigarette. They woke up to find their couch on fire and broke the living room window and tried to shove their couch outside. That fire and the resulting smoke and water damage to surrounding apartments caused hundreds of thousands of dollars and inconvenienced everyone for weeks afterwards as the maintenance people came around and vacuumed out vents etc.

That time I saw smoke in my hallway and decided to evacuate. I had only been out of the hospital for a couple of  months and was still having lots of lung troubles, so by the time I got to the 4th floor where the smoke was starting to get thicker I was overcome by the smoke and had a severe asthma attack and had to be assisted down the rest of the stairs by the fire fighters and wearing one of their oxygen masks. I spent about 4 hours in an ambulance (I refused to go to the hospital) being treated for smoke inhalation.  I decided on a more "wait and see" approach this time.

I heard the large fans in the hall a short while ago, and other than a sickening mild burned smell everything seems to be ok now.

I'm wondering if it's the same tenant this time as  last. I wouldn't be a bit surprised because he moved back into his apartment after it was repaired and he kept right on smoking!!!!!!!!

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi