The above video is from last night, around 3:15 am, when a loud announcement and evacuation warning came over the loudspeakers in the condos and hallways.
We were startled out of bed when we heard the sirens going off in the middle of the night.I heard the alarms before Tom since he doesn’t wear his hearing aids to bed. When I heard the sirens, I immediately woke him up while we each scrambled to get out the door.
Before opening the door, we felt it for warmth and then bolted down the hallway to the stairway leading to the building’s lobby. When we arrived, a few dozen residents, many with their dogs, were gathered in the lobby, as shown in the above photo.
I felt exceptionally safe since Tom is a former volunteer fireman. I couldn’t have been in better hands. Unable to find my zippered sweatshirt, I put on my shoes and head to the lobby with Tom, wearing my full-coverage pajamas. There was no time for fashion conscientiousness.
Once in the lobby, when we hadn’t seen or smelled smoke, we felt comfortable staying indoors to wait for the fire department staff to arrive. We waited only about 30 feet from the front door. At least two dozen people had the same idea, waiting indoors when it was cold outside, around 50F, 10 C.
Another few dozen residents waited outdoors wearing heavy coats and jackets. Previously, we had no idea how many people were staying in this condo complex in Lake Las Vegas. There may have been under 40 people, not very many, for this good-sized, 178-unit building, many of which are privately owned by many who only live here part-time.
After about 45 minutes passed and no fire trucks had arrived, I decided to call 911. (The building is not overseen by staff during the night.) As soon as I connected to the 911 operator and she saw where I was calling from, she explained that the fire trucks would arrive any minute.
As soon as I hung up, the fire trucks pulled into the driveway, and several firemen scoured the building for about 20 minutes, checking every floor and every condo for specific issues. Apparently, none were found, and eventually, they turned off the alarms and gave us the “all clear” to return to our units.
By the time we returned to bed, it was about 4:30 am. Being awake like that during the night made it challenging to fall back asleep. It wasn’t until after 5:30 am that I finally drifted off, awakening at 9:30 and feeling sluggish. Tom was up and about by 9:00 am and I entered the kitchen to make breakfast at 10:00 am, showered and dressed for the day, finally feeling energized to tackle another day.
We had a tasty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast for Tom, and bacon and eggs (topped with guacamole and Picante sauce) and Greek yogurt with ground flaxseeds for me. I’ve already completed my exercise routine, talked to our friend Lisa on the phone, and am just about to complete today’s post.
We are grateful to have caught up on sleep, ultimately been safe after the false alarm, and grateful for another day in the life…
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, February 13, 2015:
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