...But Idiot Can be Relative
Last night the wife and I needed to go out and buy some provisions. Leaving the house around 8:45pm, we noticed some flames coming from the upper balcony on the house next door.Our side door faces our neighbor's house. There is a nice sized yard between our house and theirs, so the flames were in clear view from my doorway.
Three guys live in that upper flat. They're all typical guys, ...baseball caps, baggy shorts, a motorcycle, a stream of identical guys coming over each evening with 6-packs, a few trucks, and no girls. I don't think a girl has ever visited their flat.
They mostly use the upper balcony for smoking (one of the bigger guys smokes every 20 minutes or so), but sometimes they cook-out up there.
I assumed the flames were from a recently started grill. If you use too much lighter fluid, the flames can jump pretty high for a few minutes before settling down. However it did seem odd to me that the fire was coming from the base of the balcony and not from a grill that would be at least 12 inches higher.
The balcony is all wood, except for the side of the house which is aluminum siding. The fire obviously had ample fuel as the flames were fat, tall, and active. They pushed through the wooden supports of the railing, spilled over the balcony base, and blasted into the aluminum siding. The center of the fire seemd to be in the corner where the side of the house, the balcony railing, and balcony base met.
As I stepped down from the porch, my wife asked if the fire was supposed to "be like that." It's one of those moments where you have a choice to make. Everything is up in the air, ...should you wait and see if the fire gets worse (signaling that is was unintentional), or should you spring into action?
Well, I could tell the fire was going to get worse, so I ran next door. My downstairs neighbors were outside looking at the fire. I guess they adopted the "wait and see" approach.
I ran over to the neighbors house and started ringing the doorbell, aware that I was standing directly below the fire. A passerby (a cogerly old man) yelled to us, "You should call the fire department." The downstairs neighbor went into her house and I yelled to her to indeed call the fire department.
I kept ringing and pounding on the door. Meanwhile, the flames started to curl under the balcony and were about to spread to the roof of the porch.
The fire was getting worse and I started to think about my flat. Would the fire consume this old house and mine along with it? Eventually one of the guys came down the stairs. I pointed up and yelled, "Your balcony is on fire!!!"
He ran back up the stairs, yelling for one of his room mates. I left the porch and joined my wife near the front porch of our house. The flames now had consumed the railing and were slowly crawling up the side of the house.
The guy came out, saw the fire, ran back inside and retrieved a small fire extinguisher. A few shots of which doused the fire. Those things really work!
The railing was still glowing like embers, so I asked my downstairs neighbor if she called the fire department. "No."
Great. So, I called 911.
"Hello. Yes, we've got a fire here, but I think they've got it under control. Maybe you should send someone over to check it out."
"You want what? You want the fire department?"
"Yes, well someone should come and make sure it out. It's looks like it's under control, but ..."
"You need to call the fire department."
"Uh, ...ok. Can't you ..."
"I'll transfer you to the police."
"Uh ..."
"Hello, Milwaukee PD."
"Hi. We've got a fire here. It's under control now but we need someone to come and take a look at it to make sure it's ok."
"A fire?"
"Yes. My neighbor's balcony was on fire."
"You need the fire department."
"Yes, I ca..."
"I'll transfer you."
"Hello, Milwaukee Fire Department."
Sigh.
I told them about it. The guys were now assembling on the porch. The railing and wall and floor were all hissing and popping and glowing. They thanked us, and were visibly shaken by the events.
I asked if it was the grill that caused it, and he told me it looked like a cigarette fell into their garbage can.
With that, the wife and I left as the fire truck blared onto our street. Men in full gear hopped out and rushed to the scene.
I took a picture of the damage this morning. I'll post it later. The landlady is gonna be pissed.
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