Whiskey, Pills, and a Burning Apartment—Happy Birthday, Neighbour!
You’d think a burning apartment would make someone drop the whiskey and call 911.
My neighbour decided it was the perfect time for pills and a nightcap.
It was mid-summer. I can sometimes be a bit of a night owl, so one night, I had decided to stay up late to enjoy the peace and quiet. I went on my balcony with my headphones on, playing my tunes and smoking a cigarette.
We had a light next to the balconies to give some light to the yard and probably for emergencies as well. It gave just enough light to see the other balconies, also. I take a glance over to my next-door neighbour's balcony, and noticed there was smoke coming out his window. I thought it was maybe the smoke from my cigarette (the air was still), or that he was standing next to the window blowing his cigarette smoke out. I thought nothing of it!
After I head back inside, I had just laid down in bed not even 5 minutes - a rhythmic pounding knock on my door, typical of this neighbour, jolted me up. I'm thinking, "Come on! It's 2AM! Go to sleep!"
I ignored it, but then a moment later, he bangs on the door again. "OK, I am tearing him a new one!" I open the door, and he's staggering, slurred speech... can't even keep his eyes open, wobbling back and forth. Says to me, "There's a fire at my place." I yell at him with profane exclamation, "Call emergency services, cockaroach!"
He heads back to his place. I grab my phone after having quickly put on proper attire. I pound on his door... "Come in! 🙂" ... What?! 😐 There was smoke billowing out the bottom of his door. But I did open his door, and there was a haze of dark grey smoke all over his apartment.
I see him standing there in the haze, taking his pills and downing them with a shot of whiskey. Oh, yes, of course! Your apartment is going to go up in flames and you're going to be trapped in a fire and turned into a charcoal briquette, but let's make sure you have taken your pills first, and don't take your medications with water, despite the fact you're in a life or death situation either way, let's take it with some booze so you can have that "rational mind" to know what's really going on. He was acting like a dumbass!
So, I went back into the hall, called emergency services. The reception around this area was never any good. We can communicate with robots on other planets, yet, in government housing, most of us pay about the same price for our phone bill that we pay for rent... to only have our phone reception work part of the time. What a world we live in, eh? 🙄
Anyways, I ran outside, knowing I could get slightly better reception. I get a call from the police asking me if I had just called about a fire. I explained the situation, and was told to pull the fire alarm. Thing is though, there were several people who were home, but didn't even bother to come outside. How stupid?!
I filled in a few neighbours about what was going on. The fire department showed up, but we were all worried the neighbour responsible for it hasn't come outside yet. Eventually, he did after the fire department had responded to the fire.
He grabs one of the neighbour's chairs off her patio, and just plops his ass down. She thought that was pretty arrogant, especially without asking to use it. But I thought there was more to worry about than who's sitting in whose seat.
The craziest thing about this? The neighbour responsible... it was his birthday! 😆 I mentioned that to a neighbour, and she jokingly but sternly said, "Good! I'll give him a birthday present! 👊 "
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