I just realized that I never posted this. I wrote it shortly after the incedent, but then life happened and... Oops!!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the post.
On January 2nd at around two in the morning, I
was sleeping soundly when I heard a loud banging, like somebody was outside
with a wrench banging on the pipes. I stumbled out of bed and groggily went to
investigate the sound. I literally lifted the lid of my toilet and looked in. I
don’t know what I expected to find, but I was still asleep and that’s where
the noise was coming from so…
I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary (I bet you could
have figured that part out), but when I stood back up, I smelled something
peculiar. It was smoke. I’ve smelled a fire burning a ways away, it smells like
wood burning, but this smelled different. This smelled chemically, like plastic
burning. Then it hit me, my place was on fire.
But wait, let me set the stage. Two days before was New
Years Eve, and with my daughter out of town visiting my ex-wife, I decided to
go with a friend to a party. The designated driver lived in Hollywood and I
left my car, a Prius, at his place.
There had been news reports of an arsonist that had lit a string of fires the previous night in Hollywood and West Hollywood. He had lit cars on fire and the cars had caught the surrounding buildings on fire. Aparently he was on a rampage again because while we were partying, the New Years broadcast was intermittently interrupt with info on the arsonist. I
jokingly said that I hoped my car was safe.
When we arrived the next morning, New Years Day, I wiped
my forehead in an exaggerated motion exclaiming my luck that my car was still
there and had not been torched overnight. You never think something like that
will actually happen to you, and I guess joking about it helps to relieve any
concern.
New Years Day was recuperation day. After a night of New
Years Eve frivolity, it was nice just to hang out, and relax at my place in
Sherman Oaks (a long way from Hollywood). I watched movies and chilled all day
long. I was tired early, so I went to bed around 10 pm anticipating a long and
good sleep.
Next thing I knew, it’s two in the morning, and I had my head in a toilet investigating a sound. When I came to the realization that it was MY place that was on fire, I went from groggy to
wide-awake in a nano-second; my brain was instantly firing at a million miles an hour. I had three
things to do: 1) get dressed, 2) find my backpack, and 3) put my laptop in it.
I turned on a light and began to get ready. I knew it was
chilly outside, so I grabbed a thermal and threw on my jeans, and I remember
taking a moment to choose what T-shirt I would wear. Strange that I would take the time to do
that, but I did.
The power went out, but I could still see enough to continue
to getting dressed. I could see smoke hanging thick in the air even though
there was no light. It was kinda spooky.
While I was putting my shoes and socks on I heard someone
honking their horn outside, and I instantly knew that whoever it was, they were
trying to help. They were doing whatever they could to make sure that everyone
in my apartment complex was awake.
I could hear a fire engine getting closer and then farther
away. I wondered, “They missed my place?!? How come fire trucks and ambulances always
miss where the emergency is?"
I grabbed my wallet and keys and left the bedroom.
My backpack is set up so I can last a week with what’s in
there. Well, not food, but toothbrush and toothpaste and that kind of stuff,
and I’ve got a case of water and a blanket in the back of my car… I’m prepared
you know, for a zombie attack, or an earthquake... or a spontaneous romantic encounter...
My laptop was plugged in at the dining table, and my backpack
was right there as well, so I unplugged the laptop, put it in the backpack and
I was out the door.
I was a man on a mission, laser focused. As I left my apartment I
saw out of the corner of my eye that people were moving around. I heard someone
knocking on one of my neighbors doors, and I heard them utter the word fire, so without
shifting my focus, I understood that all my neighbors were being helped, so I
didn’t need to concern myself with them.
My apartment is at the back of the apartment complex, right
above the carport where my car is parked. Behind my complex is a paved alley chock full of potholes,
and behind that, is an open-air parking lot for a strip mall.
Somehow I knew that the fire was coming from the carport
under my apartment, so I ran downstairs and down the walkway toward the fire to
see what was happening.
As I rounded the corner I saw that the
car that was parked next to my Prius was on fire, and that the surrounding area
was also burning. I couldn’t tell if my car was on fire, or if it was just in
the fire, but there was certainly fire in the general area. I thought that if I
could save my car I would, so I jumped in it and started it up. I was slightly
surprised that it started (I guess that reinforced the belief that my car was NOT on fire). I backed the car out of my parking space and into the alley
behind my place. It was then that I noticed a little flame on the hood of the
car.
My mind raced trying to figure out what to do. I saw the
long alley ahead of me and thought, “Maybe if I drive fast enough I could blow
the flame out.” I floored it, bouncing over potholes all the way. When I got to
the end of the alley I saw that the flame was still burning so I decided to
give it another try thinking that the potholes might have slowed me down.
I shot around the corner and down the long street that runs
in front of my complex. About half way down that street my car began to fill up
with smoke, and I realized that my car, was indeed on fire. I thought for a moment
that I should pull over and get out of my burning car, but then I realized that
the fire department would have to put out fires in two locations instead of
just one. So I decided to drive back to where the fire was burning.
I noticed a bright light behind me, but I didn’t have time to
investigate it. I instead kept it floored and flew to the end of the street. I
pulled around and parked in the open-air parking lot behind my complex. I
grabbed my backpack and got out of my burning car. The bright light that had
been following me was from a cop car. I’m sure the sight of my flaming Prius,
flying down the road caught their attention.
I pulled the water and blanket from the back of my burning
car, and moved all of my belongings to a safe place away from the flames. It was
weird to stand there with my car burning in the foreground, and my burning apartment in the background. I thought I was going to loose ALL my belongings,
and for a brief but practical moment I thought, “I should have gotten renter’s
insurance.”
The fire department arrived a few moments later, and quickly
put out the fire from the other car and then put out the fire that was threatening my complex. Then they came over and put out my car. I had plenty of
time to take a couple of really cool pictures of my flaming Prius; an
opportunity like that doesn’t come around all that often.
It turned out that there was another fire in my neighborhood
that was started a few minutes before mine. The Fire Department had gone to
that fire first, that’s why they had driven past my place earlier.
My brain and body were still amped and moving a million
miles an hour. I told my story over and over again to the firemen and the
police in hopes that some piece of information might be able to help. The
detective and fire marshal I met with said that by moving my car, I probably
saved my entire apartment complex from burning.
I learned that this was the same arsonist that had been working the previous two nights in Hollywood, and West Hollywood. Why he decided to come into the valley, to my house, is anyone's guess.
I was allowed to re-enter my apartment and I grabbed a
jacket, which I hadn’t done earlier (oops), and I changed into my waterproof
boots (surprisingly, a lot of water is used to put out fires, duh). My place
was filled with firemen and they told me they couldn’t find any “hotspots”
meaning that both my place, and all my belongings were saved.
I went back downstairs, and by that time an independent news
reporter had arrived on the scene. He asked if I would agree to an interview,
so I told my story to him as well, this time on camera.
After the fire was out, everything began to calm down and
one by one people started to leave. Eventually I found myself alone, and I had
no clue what to do, so I made a couple of phone calls. First, I called my
insurance company, and they were great on the phone. Then I called my sister.
She’s on the east coast, so I thought she might be awake, but it went to voice
mail anyway. Then I called my ex-wife to let her and my daughter know. At that
point I had officially run out of people to talk to so, I went to bed.
 |
| The Morning After |
It turned out that a portion of my interview played on NPR, and NBC
Nightly News. I became a mini celebrity. I posted everything up on Facebook, and
all my friends were really sympathetic, concerned, and supportive. My insurance
was really generous, and I was able to buy a new car that I really love. It’s a
red Volkswagen GTI and if you ask me, I’ll be happy to give you a ride, so I can
show it off.
 |
| Tears of a Hybrid |
All in all, my encounter with the arsonist has turned out to be one of the best things that has ever happened to me, and I'd highly recommend it to all of you. ;-)
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