After having almost completed my setup at office, I got a call from my brother’s cell. It was his friend online and he informed me that my building was on fire. My brother then told me that the meter box in my wing had caught fire, and he had to get out of the house, climb up two floors through the smoke and get out through the other wing via the terrace.
Wasn’t really aware of the full story, and my superiors here at work told me I could leave early. So, packed my bags and rushed off home. Got there in time to see the fire brigade leaving. The fire was put out in time, but the entire meter boxes and the wood in the basement had burnt, in addition to the whole staircase, wiring and most of the outer doors:O
I wasn’t able to survey the damage last night, but got a good look at the damages this morning. Since all the meters have burned out, we won’t be having electricity for a few days atleast, until the setup is completed. What I first thought to be a small fire, was actually a major one. By God’s grace our flats were indeed saved, because the fire was able to escape straight up, as the building terrace’s ceiling was broken down for renovation.
We also noticed a strange thing this morning. My neighbour has the picture of Jesus as a sticker on her door. Her entire door was charred but the sticker has remained untouched. A miracle?
Like the old poem goes:
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
Atleast now, people will wake up and do something about the totally unsafe situation.
Got to work today by 10.30am as getting ready in the morning is a nightmare without the electricity; cold water bath, unironed clothes and darkness. Not to mention, my cell phone was almost out, and our Reliance phone is going to die out as it can’t be charged (we are luckier than our neighbours, because the MTNL phone wires are burnt out).
Found out my test setup wasn’t giving the desired results. However, with the help of my Design Leader, we were able to debug and complete it successfully. At long last, my hard work has paid off. Though this is just the beginning of a long journey, it does spell a great achievement for me 🙂
[…] st was during the Orientation program in July. November brought with a major calamity. My building caught fire; actually just the staircase, but this meant dirty walls for Christmas. […]