Friday, February 25, 2005
glad we're not dead
Reen and I were at Mom and Dad's in Plymouth and came home in the late afternoon. The power was out but there was already an NStar truck outside so we just went about our business waiting for the lights to come on.
After about an hour our neighbor Tom stopped by and filled us in on why the power was out. Some time that morning, a major electrical surge went through the entire Dorson compound (our apartment and 3 others all attached, small house, larger house w/ garage, all owned by Landlord Dorson). Right when this happened Sean (small house) went outside to grab his cellphone out of his truck to call NStar. While outside he observed smoke rolling up the side of his house along the cable TV line from outside. Whatever had happened involved the cable TV lines and we would later see that the cable along the outside of our building had the black insulation melted too. He called Nstar and the fire department.
The big house was without power and the 3 other apartments had some electrical stuff fried. The guy below us lost everything that was plugged in at the time. Not cool. We got out with a single blown fuse.
Nstar worked all day and the power to our 4 apartments was back by 6pm or so.
Sean and the folks in the big house still had no power/heat and they both checked into the inn across the street on Dorson's dime. Sean came back to our place after checking in to join us for dinner. Sometime around 8:30 Reen noticed a funny smell in the kitchen and we all agreed that it smelled like burning plastic. We also noticed a thin haze in the air. I went next door and you could smell it in their apartment too. We checked the attic and found nothing. Then we all went downstairs and opened the bulkhead door to the basement. Lots of the acrid smoke down here and a loud hissing noise. Super.
We went back into the apartment to grab jackets (I put our uncooked dinner into the fridge) and we all get out of the building. Reen calls 911 to report the smoke a possible gas leak and the fire department comes with two engines and a bunch of cruisers. One of the furnaces was overheating and starting to melt the insulation around it. The firemen shut it down and shut down the rest of the furnaces just to be safe.
Reen calls Trey and Lindsay who offer to put us up. Reen and Sean and I head to get some chinese food for dinner and then we drop Sean at the Inn and head to T&L's.
The next day Dorson has mobilized the troops and there are plumbers and electricians everywhere. By 7pm there is heat and electricity back to everybody in the Compound.
Let's hear it for happy endings.
Reen and I were at Mom and Dad's in Plymouth and came home in the late afternoon. The power was out but there was already an NStar truck outside so we just went about our business waiting for the lights to come on.
After about an hour our neighbor Tom stopped by and filled us in on why the power was out. Some time that morning, a major electrical surge went through the entire Dorson compound (our apartment and 3 others all attached, small house, larger house w/ garage, all owned by Landlord Dorson). Right when this happened Sean (small house) went outside to grab his cellphone out of his truck to call NStar. While outside he observed smoke rolling up the side of his house along the cable TV line from outside. Whatever had happened involved the cable TV lines and we would later see that the cable along the outside of our building had the black insulation melted too. He called Nstar and the fire department.
The big house was without power and the 3 other apartments had some electrical stuff fried. The guy below us lost everything that was plugged in at the time. Not cool. We got out with a single blown fuse.
Nstar worked all day and the power to our 4 apartments was back by 6pm or so.
Sean and the folks in the big house still had no power/heat and they both checked into the inn across the street on Dorson's dime. Sean came back to our place after checking in to join us for dinner. Sometime around 8:30 Reen noticed a funny smell in the kitchen and we all agreed that it smelled like burning plastic. We also noticed a thin haze in the air. I went next door and you could smell it in their apartment too. We checked the attic and found nothing. Then we all went downstairs and opened the bulkhead door to the basement. Lots of the acrid smoke down here and a loud hissing noise. Super.
We went back into the apartment to grab jackets (I put our uncooked dinner into the fridge) and we all get out of the building. Reen calls 911 to report the smoke a possible gas leak and the fire department comes with two engines and a bunch of cruisers. One of the furnaces was overheating and starting to melt the insulation around it. The firemen shut it down and shut down the rest of the furnaces just to be safe.
Reen calls Trey and Lindsay who offer to put us up. Reen and Sean and I head to get some chinese food for dinner and then we drop Sean at the Inn and head to T&L's.
The next day Dorson has mobilized the troops and there are plumbers and electricians everywhere. By 7pm there is heat and electricity back to everybody in the Compound.
Let's hear it for happy endings.
