Some Like it Hot..

I was in my office today at work and thought I smelled something abnormal; like a fire was happening nearby. I ignored it at first because my LORD let me tell you, if I had a dollar for all the times I heard a fire engine or siren or loud music or smelled something burning at work, I'd be a just a tad richer (which I am NOT) than I am now. It's just the nature of what I do; when at work, I am constantly around people's homes, apartments, and just people living their lives. It's anything goes. I hear dogs barking, kids laughing, sometimes yelling, and it is not out of the norm to hear the all important sirens or fire engines. Also lots of our communities are around single family homes and who can tell what's going on there you know? So when I smelled the fire, I have to admit, I kind of ignored it at first. I would say about 20 minutes went by and the smell started to get my attention because it seemed to be intensifying. It caused me to get up and go downstairs and ask the leasing team if they smelled something burning. They agreed they did but they had attributed it to someone burning leaves in one of the single family homes across the street. "huh" I thought. Reeally? Seems kind of strong for that but ok, I'll buy that. So up I go back to my office, trying to refocus and concentrate. More, more, more I smelled it. My nose was beginning to burn now. I get up and start feeling the walls, feeling panicked and starting to think that there must be a fire smoldering in the ceiling or walls and I will tell you that I actually was envisioning someone up in the attic setting the fire and then running. I do have quite the imagnination. The walls felt normal. Still I was getting more and more anxious because now it was a mystery and my nose was telling me something was wrong. I could SEE no fire, I could FEEL no fire but I could SMELL the fire. It was like burning wood, almost like a forrest fire. But no smoke, no obvious flames. SO I go back down and say to them, "go up in my office and tell me what you think. Is it me?" They go up and halfway up the stairs, they are ewing and awing it's much worse up there than downstairs. To add to all this, I could then begin to see a haze in my office. Real panic now.

We all three go flying downstairs and I call the Maintenance Supervisor, "James James come rescue us in the office we think we smell a fire" I was still visually joking and was trying to convey a sense of "oh it's fine" to the other girls. James tells me he is on his way. One of the girls went to the HVAC closet out back on the patio and the smell was worse in there. I decided I needed to check that out too but as I got closer to the door to open it, I had more panic literally race through me and the girls of course pulled me back. James and all of his maintenance team come running in the office all with their fire extinguishers held like they were guns in the ready position. This made me very nervous. They could find nothing and they ordered one of the leasing consultants to call the Fire Department that it could be fire in the walls and we all needed to get out. I ran upstairs, packed up all my things, got my laptop locked up and ran outside back downstairs. We are standing outside where we can smell the burning but not nearly as strongly as it could be smelled in my office or outback. Strange. Just strange.

Next thing you know, we hear the beloved sirens, here come the fire trucks. Simultaneously, the leasing team was knocking on residents' doors to get them to step outside of their homes. One of the residents walked up to me and said to me, "I can solve this real quick" I'm looking at him perplexed thinking what is he talking about? At this point I am in full panic mode, holding everything from my office I was just working on, I'm sure a crazed look in my eye. I say to him, "what are you talking about, what do you know?" He says, "I'm smoking meat in the back yard!" Huh? I guess because of my heightened state of mind and all the anxiety running through me, I was not thinking straight. I envisioned him on his back patio, sitting in a chair, literally smoking meat like a cigarette. I know the look on my face told him I was confused so he said, "you know, smoking meat in a smoker to give it the taste?" I said to him (still confused), "the taste of what?" he says, "taste of smoke!" Then it all dawns on me, he had a smoker on his back patio and he was treating the meat with a smoker. So I turn around and realize the fire trucks are coming into the court in full force WITH a fire rescue truck like an ambulance. OK. So NOW we have to tell them, "kay you can go back now, we're good, false alarm buh bye" but they hop out of the truck like ants in line and they begin to put on their gear without coming our way and they are ready to rock and roll. Suddenly people are everywhere and literally it was like a swarm of them. I had this precious info that this resident had just given me and it felt OH SO daunting to have to tell them, never mind we really DON'T need you after all. SO, I made James do it. :) If it makes you feel any better, you should know that even once they knew what the problem was they still inspected my office and went down to the neighbors home to make sure that was what we were all smelling before they left the community. Kay, thankyouverymuch I said to them. Cause really, I wasn't going back up there till at least ONE fireman checked it out. Turns out three went up there. Something to be said for triple checking...

James said to me, "better safe than sorry but Jenn!" "What?" --I'm thinking.. The panic was a team effort, it wasn't just me; was it? WAS I the driving force? I guess, as the old saying goes, "some like it hot" and I'm no different. I must say, my time with this company, all of eight years now, has provided me with many many memories. It has tested me in ways I never would have been tested were I in any other field or with any other company. Funny stories (kind of like today) and sometimes very sad stories. Nonetheless, I guess I needed a little spice or heat shall we say in my life today..... after that, nothing felt right. I think we all felt a little silly but thank goodness, there was no FIRE! Cause it always could've been a home made bomb like that one Navy guy set off many moons ago. Now THAT was a story! OY.