If you havenβt already, read part one and part two:
Last week, I mentioned a possible connection between the four-alarm fire and four βalarmsβ that Michael and I might need to pay greater attention to. Three presented as contracts to sign (or not); the fourth we didnβt see coming.
But before we get there, the burning building surfaced a few critical safety-related reminders. If you live near a fire zone, these may already be obvious to you, but I canβt resist sharing them here as a PSA:
I would also love to hear from anyone who has been through a fire, and/or firefighters and EMTsβshout-out to volunteer firefighter and Doh reader ! What am I missing?
ποΈ 1. E-bikes are a scourge; donβt ever buy one
In New York City, βFires sparked by lithium-ion batteriesβwhich are used to power electric bicyclesβhave proven to be violent, fast-moving, and tough to extinguish.β
In the first two months of this year, there were more fires started by e-bike batteries in the city than in all of 2019 combined. As of March 1, 2024, the FDNY already reported 66 fires started by lithium-ion batteries, killing five people. In 2023, there were 216 fires and six deaths.
π 2. Buy a fireproof go-bag (bigger or smaller)
Donβt just buy oneβactually pack it and make sure itβs easily accessible. You may not be thinking clearly in an emergency, and you wonβt have time to look. Many neighbors who fled the building lamented what they wished they grabbed.
My only related question is how to ensure that an easily spottable go-bag like this is not the first thing someone steals if they break into your house?!
βοΈ 3. If you live in a city, better than yelling βHelp!β is to be direct: βSomebody call 911!β1
From past incidents, this lets neighbors know exactly what to do when they are frozen in place or unsure of the severity of whatβs happening. Even better, if you can see someone, ask that person to call.
However, that option isnβt always available. In the case of this fire, no one was outside β most neighbors were asleep in their buildings. Thankfully someone across the street heard yelling and/or smelled smoke and called it in.
On another pre-dawn morning, I heard two men in their twenties grappling. If one hadnβt been shouting, βHelp! Someone call 911!β repeatedly, I wouldnβt have gotten the police involved.
I called 911 right after I heard his specific cries for help. When the operator asked me to describe the menβwho were now farther away than I could seeβI froze, coming up utterly empty. I couldnβt remember their height, their clothing, or anything else. To be fair, it was dark out, but stillβas a caller, I was useless.
Make a point to describe the people and surroundings to yourself in the moment, while your adrenaline is pumping, as you call 911.2