Where There Is Smoke...

Where there is smoke, there is usually a fire and last night was no exception. Our whole fam-dam-ily was out for a walk around the block last night (because that is about as far as we can go with our old, broken-down dogs.) As we arrived back at home Matthew and I both smelled some smoke. We hung around in the front yard for a minute looking for the source and shortly afterward saw thick black smoke billowing up out of an apartment building on our street. I started to run inside to call 911 but the sirens started blazing before I got to the phone so someone beat me to it.

The building on fire was one of many in our area that are.... less than desirable, to put it nicely. There are lots of blighted properties in our neighborhood because it is still in a state of transition. Once we were certain that all the occupants had gotten out safely, Matthew and I both watched with a sense of restrained excitement. I feel bad for being excited about people loosing their homes, especially since the majority of them surely didn't have renter's insurance, but fire seems to be the only way to get some of these blighted properties destroyed.

Our front yard turned into the Thursday night hot spot as lots of neighbors came out to watch the action. We met several new friends and actually enjoyed a beer while we watched. Is that wrong?

The fire trucks were still out there when we went to sleep last night at 10:30 pm and this morning there are beautiful orange stickers on every apartment door stating that the property is condemned and is structurally unsound- a sure sigh that it will soon be torn down.

Lest you think I'm a cruel meanie, I called my local branch of the American Red Cross and made a donation to help those displaced by the fire. I decided that the money I would have spent on an Easter basket for Ally would be better used in this fashion. (What the heck would I put in her Easter basket anyway- baby food? It's not like the child eats chocolate yet and mommy & daddy certainly don't need any extra candy around!) In the event that any of my loyal readers (all 2 of you) want to donate- please click the link above and reference the fire that occurred on 5th Bay street on 4/9/09.

Hope you're all enjoying a 'great' Good Friday!