The Fire in Chinatown

Thank god I brushed my teeth before the morning dog walk.

After doing a loop around the National Mall, I direct the dogs back toward my apartment building.

I can see the fire trucks from down the street and think, “Please, please let those be for another apartment building. Maybe the place next door had a kitchen fire?”

But the fire trucks are totally for my building. And it isn’t just a normal false alarm — the fire hoses are actually plugged in and spewing water all over the street.

A fire hydrant being used in Chinatown, Washington, DC

The waiting game.

So I wait outside of the building with my annoyed neighbors. I eventually realize that I can go into the building lobby — which is packed with people in pajamas holding dogs and cats in traveling cages. Everyone looks tired and pissy.

The front desk manager is also upset (and will eventually burst out into full ugly-crying.) How bad can this fire actually be?

My neighbors speculate on the cause of the fire. A woman from the 5th floor says that her hallway was black with smoke. No one knows where the fire actually started, but the number of axe-wielding firefighters in the lobby confirms that there was a fire…somewhere.

Gunter is unexpectedly feisty with the firefighters and barks at them. Everyone turns to stare at me while I angrily shush him.

The sobbing front desk lady eventually tells us that everything is under control and that we can go back upstairs. However the elevators will be shut down for another hour while the firefighters do extra inspections… So — I get my workout for the morning by dragging the dogs in the stairwell to the upper floors of the building.

As I get close to my floor, I run into some very upset neighbors clutching a baby. The redheaded man tells me that the fire alarm never went off on our floor, so he and his wife were surprised by the smoke and lack of elevator service. When I finally make it to my floor, I can see what he was talking about — the hallway is super smoky.

At this point I am way later for work than normal.

I quickly strip my sweaty clothes and start the shower — but there’s no water pressure! Same with the sink. Good thing I brushed my teeth before the dog walk. 

I dress for work and make my way back through the smoky hallway. I then spend the rest of the day slightly self-conscious about smelling like a chimney sweep, but none of my coworkers say anything.

Later in the day, the building sends out an email notification about the fire: apparently a car caught fire in our garage, and something about our ventilation system carried the smoke from the underground parking garage throughout the entire building. The email also said that the fire alarms only alert one floor above and below where the fire actually is. This means that none of the residential floors ever heard an alarm. (So I basically live in a death trap.)

Not wanting to test my luck, I definitely brushed my teeth and showered before this morning’s dog walk. The hallways still smell like smoke, but at least the elevator works today. 🔥