Burning down the house

So where to begin with this one?

The time was about 8.15pm on a normal Thursday night, I was at work thinking it was going to be an early finish and wondering if I should carry on with my Mission Impossible movie binge or switch it up a bit and watch a few episodes of Lie to Me when I got home. It was then the phones started going off, firstly my mobile and then the work phone. Being the ever professional I of course answered the work one to begin with, the person on the other end of the line immediately asking for me by name, when I replied it was me I was met with the line ...."I think you'd better get home your house is on fire"

With that line I can't begin to describe what was going through my head, the first thing I thought was it must be a joke, you read about that sort of thing happening but you never think it will happen to you. Luckily for me I had no customers left in the building and quickly managed to lock up and get home. 

It's weird looking back now a million things running through my head, I kept looking to the sky to see if I could see any smoke or anything in the distance, one thing that kept coming to the forefront of my mind was the fact that I might have lost Pingu, my stuffed penguin that I've had from birth, yes there was a lot of expensive stuff in the building, my drone, my laptop, my switch but all I could fixate on was my penguin. What would I wear, where would I sleep, was someone messing with me, all these thoughts came and went but the penguin kept coming to the front of my mind.

As I turned the corner onto Main Ridge, the street where I live, I could immediately see the road had been cordoned off and two fire engines where indeed outside my house. It was only when I got a little bit closer that Rob, a former colleague and current manager of the local pub came out to greet me and told me that the person living in the ground floor of my building had apparently accidently set himself on fire and caused the house to set alight. By the time I had got there the fire was thankfully out and the house was still standing, having mainly been confined to his part of the building. I was pulled aside by the police and told that he had been airlifted to Hull Royal Infirmary and had very severe burns all over his body, and that he was in a bad way. Rob told me that he looked like something out of a horror film and to be honest I've tried not to think about the amount of pain that he must have been in at the time. At the time of writing this I've still not had an update about his condition and everyone I've asked doesn't either.

So this happened a week ago and I've been in a bit of limbo since, staying in the local premier inn on the landlords dime, which has made me realise two things. One terrestrial TV these days is absolutely rubbish and two there are some nice people in the world. The first one is self explanatory, so many more channels than when I was younger but all full of the same rubbish and so many repeats, I mean I love the Big Bang Theory but do we really need to have 12 episodes in a row of it? And secondly the amazing job that the fire department and police did, they were at the building within 8 minutes of the call so I've been told and had the fire out within minutes of being there. They were amazing from start to finish and deserve all the respect I can give them for doing such a difficult job.

I have to look on the bright side, my health hasn't been affected and all my possessions are intact they just aren't accessible at the minute. It's just a little frustrating now knowing what's going on or when I'll be back but I know that the safety of us is the most important thing in this situation.

I'd like to end with a massive thank you to everyone who got in contact with me over the past few days and those who offered me sofa's and spare rooms. I've often thought since the divorce that I didn't have that many friends in the local area but having at least 30 plus offers of help within an hour of the incident happening just hit me right in the heart and made me feel all gooey inside, so thank you and also a special mention to Rachel, the receptionist at the Premier Inn, who after hearing what had happened to me gave me a free breakfast for the entirety of my stay.