About 45 minutes ago, I was sitting at my desk talking to Allison, when I heard a torrent of EMS sirens coming down our street. I looked outside, saw a firetruck or two, and then after a moment of thought, went outside to scope out what had happened. All of the firetrucks/ambulances were outside of 6581 North Lakewood, just a block from my apartment, and there were dozens of firefighters out and milling about. I suppose I missed the action, as they had just extinguished a fire on the second floor of the apartment complex, in a unit tucked away in the back of the courtyard.
I don't know any details as of yet, other than that no one was hurt and few people were home. I talked with a couple who had escaped from the north end of the building with two of their cats, and they said that they didn't know who lived in the unit that caught fire. A Loyola student told me that the man whose apartment it was that caught fire, ran out with only basketball shorts and a t-shirt on, sans shoes, and that he was currently in the church on the corner of Glenwood and Loyola staying warm. Now the fire marshall is inside the building and the action's simmered down. That hasn't stopped a news helicopter from hovering over the area for a minute or two in an attempt to document the event. Not much really to see from the air or street, just a burned-out apartment and some people milling about.
There is never an opportune time to have one's apartment go up in flames, but now in the beginning of winter and with the holidays just around the corner, it is especially unfortunate.
(Now I wonder if I have renter's insurance...)
No comments:
Post a Comment