20 Seconds to Toast

A little less that three weeks ago my downstairs neighbor came home from work after midnight and decided to fry potatoes.  After getting them started he took his computer, sat down in his living room to surf the net and promptly fell asleep.  Due to a severe hearing problem he did not hear his smoke alarm go off and when he finally awakened to the smell of smoke, there was a small fire already spreading in the kitchen. He panicked and attempted to put out the grease fire by spraying it with water.  It was the worst mistake he could have made.  The fire erupted, catching the rest of the kitchen, dining room and hallway on fire.  Instead of dialing 911 he tried to find a fire extinguisher, wasting precious seconds. Finally he called for help and firefighters were dispatched.  He grabbed his laptop and went outside, leaving the front door open as he fled.  He proceeded to lean against the tree waiting for help, while his neighbors slept, unaware of what was happening.  

Meanwhile a neighbor living on the other side of the complex heard popping noises and thought that a car was being vandalized.  He went outside and saw the flames and immediately called 911 while his wife called my next door neighbor to tell him to get out.  She didn't have my number but screamed my name repeatedly to attempt to awaken me.  I never heard her.  My next door neighbor called me but my phone volume was off and I was blissfully asleep, completely unaware that a fire was now raging below me as he screamed into his phone for me to get out.

Just a few minutes later Zeus awakened me, acting like he had made a mess.  It was 2:00 am and I was groggy but got up to see if I needed to clean up after him.  He followed me with his tail down, obviously very upset. Then I noticed the smell of burning plastic and began to look around.  I could not find anything upstairs so I went down and continued looking.  Then I noticed that the apartment was hazy and just as I got to the back patio door and saw flames shooting up my smoke alarm began blaring.

I dialed 911 in a panic and was told that firefighters were on their way.  I heard their sirens as they pulled up and in near hysteria begged the operator for help.  He told me I had to leave the apartment immediately.  I told him there were flames shooting up my patio so he told me to go to the front door.  If it was cool I was to open it and escape down the front stairs.  I opened it and was overcome with thick, black smoke.  I quickly slammed it shut and told him there was too much smoke.  He told me I had no choice but to leave immediately, the fire was out of control and I had to get out.  I was terrified and forgot everything I had ever learned about fire safety.  A moist wash cloth to cover my face?  It never even occurred to me.  Crouch and stay low?  Are you kidding me?  I just wanted to run.  I couldn't fathom how I could stay low as I was going down a flight of stairs.  Unfortunately I had no alternative but to try to get out so I grabbed my dog and my purse, put on some flip flops and opened the door.  

A thick wall of billowing smoke greeted me as I opened the door again and being in a panic I was gasping instead of holding my breath.  I was immediately disoriented as I breathed the toxic fumes and could not figure out where I was in relation to my apartment, even though I had just stepped outside of my front door.  I was confused about whether I had gone down any stairs; I simply could not tell up from down or right from left.  As I tried to descend the first section of stairs I was losing consciousness and began to fall, quickly grabbing the railing which was fiery hot from the smoke, unaware that I burned my fingers.  I screamed at the 911 operator, asking why no one was helping me and then dropped the phone.  My last conscious thought was that I was going to die on the landing, and how I now knew why smoke inhalation killed so quickly.  I was just steps from clean air and safety but I couldn't see it or get to it and I could no longer breathe.  Had the firefighters not been rushing up the stairs to get me, it is likely that Zeus and I would have died.

It was a terrifying experience that left me in shock for several days.  I've had many nightmares from being trapped in the smoke, trying to get to safety only to crumble in a heap on the landing, poisoned by toxic smoke.  I've shed many tears and lost my lunch more than once at the thought of how close I came to dying a tragic death.   It was a sobering reminder that life is fragile and precious when I was told that firefighters said that I was "20 seconds to toast".   Yikes. 

There are many pieces to pick up in order for me to rebuild.  Everything I own was either damaged or destroyed.  My physical health has suffered and I still have a nagging cough and bronchitis triggered by breathing so much smoke.  For almost 2 weeks I coughed up black soot and nursed my charred fingers, trying to be thankful that I was not crispy, but only lightly toasted...

There are so many more things to share about the aftermath that I will post later.  Suffice it to say that the last 3 1/2 months of my life have been almost more than I can bear.  Neurosurgery, a layoff, unemployment, a new job and now a fire have left me wounded, raw and exhausted.  Yet I'm grateful for a God who walks with me, a community of people who love, serve, challenge and care for me despite my circumstances, and last but not least a little hero who made sure I was awake and saved both of us from certain death.  More than ever I am happy to be alive despite the circumstances of late, aware that at any given time I am no more than 20 seconds to toast.