Twice in the last couple of weeks Linda and I have been disrupted by the insane loudness of our residence’s fire alarm system (building fire escape pictured above). Both incidents were the result of a couple neighbors’ cooking mishaps, which were exacerbated by the fact that neither apartment has an exhaust fan above their stoves to mitigate such issues. Thankfully the sprinkler system was not activated in either instance or it would have been much worse. And in the aftermath, we learned our fire extinguishers need inspecting, so that was very helpful.
The first incident was literally a wakeup call in the wee hours of the morning, but both times served to remind us of the need to be prepared for evacuating our home during such emergencies. As a practice, I intentionally place our stuff for quick access during an exit, including electronics, photos, papers, and other critical stuff. The irony is that the alarm system was so loud the first item I grabbed was my noise cancelling headphones before nabbing my keys and heading out the door once we ascertained fire was not an actual threat.
Noted travel writer Pico Iyer shared how his wakeup call came when a house fire left him with only the clothes on his back and the toothbrush he had the means to purchase immediately afterward. “My family home in California burned down in a forest fire, and I lost every last thing that I owned. That showed me, unquestionably, that whatever sense of home I had would have to be portable, invisible, internal. The only home that could sustain me would be whatever I carried around with me, whatever my circumstances,” said Iyer.
And it was observed of Henry David Thoreau, “His pack was quickly made up, for he kept a list of the few necessaries that he carried…thus simply equipped, he was practically independent…[and] could roam wherever the fancy took him.” As for Linda and I, we pack our necessities in a couple of bags that we can tote to our car for quick evacuation. Besides keys, wallets, phones, and glasses, our list includes paperwork like marriage and birth certificates, wills, passports, and other identification. As the scout motto suggests, “Be Prepared.”