Lessons Learnt

It’s 3:00 AM in London and I learnt a few interesting things this evening. First, it’s important to check your smoke detectors regularly. Second, every house should have a fire extinguisher. Third, fire insurance is probably a good investment of your money. Fourth, never leave candles unattended.

One of my flatmates (the Vietnamese girl living on the third floor) left a candle lit on her desk. She came downstairs to watch a movie and left the candle burning. The candle holder somehow fell unto her desk and a small fire started… The South Koreans smelled the smoke and pored water over the fire and wet towels which contained the fire. They also moved her laptop which would have been engulfed by the fire. My Mexican roommate called the firemen who arrived within 4 minutes of the call. One of my South Korean flatmates woke me up and tried to explain the situation in his broken English. I was fast asleep on the ground floor when this happened. It’s amazing how calm I was during the entire ordeal. When I woke up, within a minute or two, I had grabbed my cash, my mobile, my keys, my computer, my passport, put it in my MEC bag, grabbed a coat and went outside… Smoke was coming out of the third floor windows.

We stayed outside for a few minutes and then were asked by the firemen to wait inside in the living room because the fire was out and it was drizzling a bit. The landlord showed up with his wife shortly thereafter. The fire marshal completed his investigation and I went to bed. There is no law requiring fire extinguishers and fire alarms to be made available in the building. But I convinced the landlords to buy a fire extinguisher and to change the batteries in the fire alarms (which had not gone off).

Everyone is safe and sound and the damage didn’t look too severe although the firemen discovered a wasp’s nest underneath Lin’s room. She was recommended not to sleep in her room tonight. Also, there appears to be a leaking pipe on the third floor.

I guess this is an opportunity to ensure that in a future fire, we are all more prepared. We need the proper equipment and we need to know how the system works. The fire department was very quick and the firemen very courteous and professional. This is the first time I actually saw firemen attending a fire and they seemed to know exactly what to do and did not waste any time doing it which is very reassuring.