Hick was working at Bargain House on Tuesday afternoon when he got a phone call from one of his elderlies at the senior apartments. She was quite frantic, telling him the building was on fire! Hick told her to hang up and CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT! He dropped everything, and headed to the apartments. It's only about two miles from Bargain House.
Hick had calls from three other elderlies, also telling him he needed to get over there, because the building was on fire. His friend who runs the meal part of the operation was also trying to call him. He answered, but told her he was on the way, and couldn't talk. He felt bad for brushing her off, and later called to apologize for being so abrupt.
What Hick discovered when the whole debacle was over did not please him.
"I could tell right when I walked in that it was cigarette smoke. The building was never on fire, it just filled with smoke that went up the stairwell. They had fire departments from 30 miles away there helping them. The fire chief made me so mad I was about to poke him in the nose! He started in on me, saying there should be no smoking in the building. There's not! That's a rule. And nobody was smoking in the building. There's this one gal who takes a 3-pound coffee can out with her to put her cigarette butts in, so she don't throw 'em on the ground. [Yes, she has called a couple times from locking herself out!] She swore her cigarette was out, but I think it wasn't, and set all them other butts on fire. The can had been about half full. She sets it inside the door when she comes in, and takes it out with her the next time she goes out to smoke. Anyway, that can was empty, because all the butts burnt up.
The apartment people was standin' out front, on the sidewalk. I tell them that's what to do. The people who live in the front of the building should go down the front stairs and wait outside for the fire department. The people who live in the back should go down the back stairs, and wait in the back parking lot. Since there was smoke in the back stairwell, they went out the front. That's what you would expect them to do. The county ambulance people took 'em to the library so they wasn't out in the cold. They got everybody out except one gal who was in the shower!
The firemen were going door to door. There was no fire, but they needed to search every room for people or where the fire might have been. They couldn't get in her door. I unlocked it, but she had the chain on, so I knocked it off. But I wouldn't go in. I told the lady paramedic, 'You can go get her. I ain't goin' in while she's in the shower!'
This is what burns me up! [Unfortunate choice of words, Hick!] Those firemen didn't have no plan at all. They kept goin' in the same apartments. When something happens like that, like a disaster, you put a mark on the door to show that you've searched that one. Another problem is, the alarm only sounds IN THE BUILDING, and doesn't notify the fire department! Like at a school, if the fire alarm goes off, it automatically notifies the fire department. The chief started on me about that, and I said, 'You've been in charge of the safety of this building for YEARS! Shouldn't you have had some drills, and known about that and got it fixed?' It's a problem I inherited from the last guy, along with all different locks on the closets and other rooms. I'll take the hit for the locks. I've been meaning to get them all changed, so a master key unlocks them all.
Also, all the fire trucks were parked out front on the street. Not a one in the back. The majority of the apartments are in the back. How would they fight a REAL fire with all their trucks in the front? There's no way to run a hose around the building.
Then the chief said 'You can't keep trash in the building.' We don't keep trash. I explained that's the trash room. The trash chute leads to there! And it gets taken out every other day. AND none of them could get into the lock box for the key! After the mayor assured me at that meeting when I first put it in. She said she'd let the fire chief know. I'm gonna have my boss get us a meeting with the fire chief. So we're both there, and maybe he can get this stuff sorted out. The fire chief don't wanna listen to me. Me and Old Buddy found the can of the burned cigarette butts. The fire chief didn't want to believe that was it, but then he did an interview with the paper, and said he found the can for cigarette butts, which caused all the smoke. He didn't find nothin'!"
So... there was a "fire" at the senior center. Everybody is fine. There are communication problems with the fire department. Hick is doing his best to keep the elderlies safe, and feels like he's not being heard by the fire chief.
At least the evacuation was a success. It was the best case scenario for what could have been a tragedy.
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Let the record show that Hick is not just talking out his rumpus about fire department procedures. He used to be on the volunteer fire department, went to training, and fought many a fire. He's not wanting to tell the fire chief how to do his job. Only to see that normal policies are followed when it concerns the elderlies' apartment building. I imagine the fire chief is looking for a way to keep this (or worse) from happening, and pointing out obvious ways to prevent a possible fire. Everybody is on edge in an emergency. It's not the time for diplomacy.
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