We had a fire in our building last week. The fire alarm went off at 3:30 am and after determining it was indeed a real fire (years of college housing fire alarms have sort of jaded me towards the validity of these early morning things) we evacuated. Mario was thrown rather unceremoniously into a duffel bag. The fire was located a floor beneath us. Our hallway was a bit smokey and the first stairway we attempted to go down was VERY smokey. We opened the door to the stairwell and immediately closed it and tried a different one. We had the presence of mind to get our car out of the garage so Mario was able to hang tight in the car the 1.5 hours it took for the firefighters to let us back inside. Everyone in the building got out and besides the apartment which had the fire, everyone else's place made it through okay.
The fire has made me rethink our preparedness for a sudden evacuation. On my to-do list since the Japan disaster is to finally get a good earthquake disaster kit together. I've added to this list getting a bag for Mario together which is ready with bedding/hay in the bottom and a bag of pellets. When we were leaving I grabbed a sheet out of the linen closet on the way out, thinking I'd put it in the bottom of the duffel bag to soak up any urine. When I set it down to get my shoes on, I forgot to pick it up before we fled the apartment. As such, poor Mario was in the bag with nothing to soak up the inevitable accident he had while waiting.
I know a lot of people who read this have animals and I strongly urge everyone to think about what you would do if you were awakened in the middle of the night and had to get out quickly.
13 comments:
I think about the same thing -- we are poorly prepared for an emergency and need to come up with a better plan for the cats. (I also worry about not being able to find them should a disaster strike.)
Thank you for this post. I had a very good plan in place when I lived in an apartment, but I've been a little too casual since moving into a house. I need to do better. Innocent critters are counting on me.
I'm so glad you, boyfriend and Mario are all okay!
Hef has a pet carrier but we keep it n the basement, I really need to move it closer to his cage, the dogs leashes are always ready by the door.
Oh gosh, I'm glad you are all OK. I'm having trouble processing Mario thrown into a duffel bag, what a trooper he is. Our carriers are all pretty easy to access. I think we could be out in 7 minutes.
I have nightmares about it, MOST especially after what happened to Lorna.
Goodness that's terrible. I'm so glad you are all OK! And Mario looks unfazed by having to sit in a car in a puddle for 1.5 hrs.
my fiances apartment in college caught fire.. he is PARANOID about all things that may catch fire! glad you guys are ok!
We've thinking about this as well. The buns do not eat pellets but I've gone out and picked some up. I'm starting a disaster kit for me and the buns. And Grumpy.
AMEN!
Glad all was well.
i saw you tweet about your fire alarm going off, but i had no idea there was an actual fire! thank goodness all was safe!
i actually have an emergency preparedness kit, but thanks for the reminder that it needs refreshing!
Glad you're okay! Yes emergency preparedness is something we could certainly be better at...
So true! Justin and I have been talking about creating a plan.
How is your ankle doing???
That is so scary! I'm so glad you are all ok! We definitely need a plan with all our animals. Thanks for posting this. It's making me think...
I also put things for Chachi in my earthquake kit! My problem now is not eating all the CLIF Bars I put in there for myself... :)
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