We may have a problem here...
Mar. 26th, 2012 08:39 pmSo last night I went into my bedroom and flipped on the light. The switch made a sort of crackly noise, and the light was flickering. This didn't inspire me with a great deal of confidence, so I switched it off, went across the room, and used the OTHER switch that controlled the same light, with no crackling or flickering.
I don't know what possessed me to decide to check the basement. I really don't. But I opened the basement door, and there was an oily sort of smell. It also looked a bit hazy. I tried to turn on the light, and nothing happened.
This is when I announced to![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rikibeth and the kid that we may have a problem.
"What kind of problem?"
"Like a fire kind of problem. There's smoke in the basement."
Riki called 911. I gathered up my vital electronics and my TKD gear... the things that would be expensive to replace, in other words... and we went outside.
It didn't take long for the police and firemen to show up. And when they show up, boy do they show up. Two police cars, three ladder trucks, and one fire SUV. We had responsibly (and stupidly) locked the door, so I turned over my keys to the firemen and they went through the house.
We were given dire warnings about the smell and homeowner's claims and professional cleaning... blah blah blah... which all turned out to be not the case. They determined that the culprit was the other side of the house's furnace having malfunctioned, but they shut down both just in case, so we were without heat and hot water last night, which honestly wasn't that big of a deal.
The nice firemen gave us a new battery for the upstairs smoke detector, and checked out my light switch but said that it likely had nothing to do with the other issue, and to have the landlady call an electrician.
Our oil company came out earlier today and made sure everything was good on our side, and hooked us back up, so we've got hot water again. The landlady is sending her husband tomorrow to look at the electrical stuff (he works in construction, so maybe he'll be able to), and the neighbor's oil company seems to be here now trying to sort their shit out. Because 8:30 pm is totally the best time to deal with this kind of thing?
This means that I'm back to the LED lanterns from the blackout in my room, which is less than awesome, but the firemen told me not to use the light even with the switch that doesn't crackle, and I'm inclined to listen to them.
I also discovered an interesting way that TKD has bled over into the rest of my life. Any time any of the police or firemen asked me a question, my response tended to involve "sir". Not because they were intimidating, but just because it's become habit to use that for people in authority. I guess there are worse habits to have.
Hopefully things will get sorted out tomorrow and return to whatever passes for normal, so we can go back to just worrying about the big dark spot on the kitchen ceiling caused by a leak in the pipes in the upstairs bathroom. (Yes, someone's supposed to be coming out about that too...)
It's been a long week, and it's only Monday.
I don't know what possessed me to decide to check the basement. I really don't. But I opened the basement door, and there was an oily sort of smell. It also looked a bit hazy. I tried to turn on the light, and nothing happened.
This is when I announced to
rikibeth and the kid that we may have a problem."What kind of problem?"
"Like a fire kind of problem. There's smoke in the basement."
Riki called 911. I gathered up my vital electronics and my TKD gear... the things that would be expensive to replace, in other words... and we went outside.
It didn't take long for the police and firemen to show up. And when they show up, boy do they show up. Two police cars, three ladder trucks, and one fire SUV. We had responsibly (and stupidly) locked the door, so I turned over my keys to the firemen and they went through the house.
We were given dire warnings about the smell and homeowner's claims and professional cleaning... blah blah blah... which all turned out to be not the case. They determined that the culprit was the other side of the house's furnace having malfunctioned, but they shut down both just in case, so we were without heat and hot water last night, which honestly wasn't that big of a deal.
The nice firemen gave us a new battery for the upstairs smoke detector, and checked out my light switch but said that it likely had nothing to do with the other issue, and to have the landlady call an electrician.
Our oil company came out earlier today and made sure everything was good on our side, and hooked us back up, so we've got hot water again. The landlady is sending her husband tomorrow to look at the electrical stuff (he works in construction, so maybe he'll be able to), and the neighbor's oil company seems to be here now trying to sort their shit out. Because 8:30 pm is totally the best time to deal with this kind of thing?
This means that I'm back to the LED lanterns from the blackout in my room, which is less than awesome, but the firemen told me not to use the light even with the switch that doesn't crackle, and I'm inclined to listen to them.
I also discovered an interesting way that TKD has bled over into the rest of my life. Any time any of the police or firemen asked me a question, my response tended to involve "sir". Not because they were intimidating, but just because it's become habit to use that for people in authority. I guess there are worse habits to have.
Hopefully things will get sorted out tomorrow and return to whatever passes for normal, so we can go back to just worrying about the big dark spot on the kitchen ceiling caused by a leak in the pipes in the upstairs bathroom. (Yes, someone's supposed to be coming out about that too...)
It's been a long week, and it's only Monday.
