Fire

It's 3:27 am CET as I start writing this.

The firefighters are currently packing up their tubes and check if the building isn't in danger of collapsing. It most likely isn't but they'll have to tear it down none the less. The five fire trucks will be gone in about half an hour and my neighbors can now go back into their house.

Today was the 2nd time in 3 years that I had to call the firefighter because a building was burning. I can argue that it fortunately isn't my house this time but my neighbors', but believe me that there is not that big of a difference. Standing in front of a house and watching greyish-back clouds of smoke come out of the windows before they shatter and the fire starts leaking out of the black holes they left is something I never want to do again in my life.

So I plead all of you:

If you smell smoke, look after what is going on.

If you are not sure, still do an emergency call.

Don't be scared about doing the wrong thing - most of my neighbors thought there were drunken teenagers on the street when they heard the explosion and didn't do anything because they were affraid.

If you're inside a house that is burning, keep your head down. The smoke will be hot and therefore relatively close to the ceiling (at first) - keep out of it and try not to inhale it. Most victims of fires don't die from actual burning but pass away in their sleep because they suffocate from the smoke before they have time to wake up.

Don't try to save anything! You can take your cell with you, but that's about it. Leave everything other behind. It isn't wort dying for! Don't run inside to save some expensive painting or money (at least the ash of Euros can be traced in a burnt building). You can buy a new couch, a new TV, a new computer... but you can't revive your grandmother who died in the flames because she wanted to rescue her savings from the burning house.

If you do an emergency call: Where? What? How big is it? How many people are hurt / in danger?

It is important for the firefighters to know what is burning. Is it a chimney on fire, a camp fire out of control, a burning shop etc. It helps if you can tell them how big the fire is, if other houses are in danger of getting set on fire and how many people are in the building. If they have to go in that's the most important thing, to prevent that someone is left behind by the rescuers.

Call 112, 911, 900 or whatever the number is in your country. Save people by doing the right thing and turn your electronic equipment off instead of turning it on standby at nights.

If you don't, you may end like me: Standing here even after the last firefighter and policeman is gone, still looking at the half burned building only to make sure that it really isn't burning anymore.