meeting the neighbors (subtitle: hopefully lightning doesn't strike the same place twice)
so, i met some of my neighbors last night. you may ask, where did you meet your neighbors, did you have a neighbor get together. well, sort of.
i was chatting with michele when it started storming, we finish talking but not before i hear this huge lightning/ thunder extravaganza. get off phone. 1 minute later POUNDING on my front door is my neighbor (now known as eric, which is apparently his name, who knew..) i slowly open door to see pouring rain, eric soaked and him telling me get out b/c lightning just struck the building. my reaction, i can't even remember what i said to him. (side note: as it is past 5:30 PM, i have showered and have my pjs on...) so i grab my purse, my laptop and my knitting and run across to eric's apartment (he lives in a building perpendicular to mine) where others from my building are gathered. also a md. state tropper lives over there, he saw the lightning strike and called the fire department and police. he and his girlfriend and the other guy from that building knocked on all the doors to get everyone out. i decide to run back in to my apartment to put on jeans and real shoes (i was wearing my slippers which are now soaked due to rain). i should explain my building first, two levels, 16 apt. total, 8 on each side of hte building, clustered in groups of 4. so i live on the bottom level, 2nd of 4 apartments from the left. the lightning struck between the first and 2nd apartments on the right. i guess people who live on the first floor on the right said the lightning came into the apartment, i didn't even know it was possible. the fire trucks show up, probably three and they get up on the roof. i don't know if there were even more firetrucks on the other side of the building. from what i could see and heard they opened up the roof since there was smoke up there (i never saw huge flames or anything, but it did smell like smoke) and went into the top apartments of the people on the right side and i think broke into their walls to make sure nothing was smoldering. the people on the four right hand side apartments aren't allowed back in and there are notices up. i guess they have smoke and water damage. after the fire department searched and checked my apartment, i was allowed to go back to my apartment. of course i was totally freaking out and slept very little last night, but i knew that no matter where i was trying to sleep, i would not be able to get any rest last night so i stuck it out. and the fire department assured me that they wouldn't let me back in unless it was really safe. i hope they put those other people up someone... one of the neighbors from the other building offered for me to stay there and d said i could come down to hers, but it was ok.
sorry for the boring camera phone photo, i forgot my camera inside (urgh!!). ok, so end of the story, everyone's ok.
i was chatting with michele when it started storming, we finish talking but not before i hear this huge lightning/ thunder extravaganza. get off phone. 1 minute later POUNDING on my front door is my neighbor (now known as eric, which is apparently his name, who knew..) i slowly open door to see pouring rain, eric soaked and him telling me get out b/c lightning just struck the building. my reaction, i can't even remember what i said to him. (side note: as it is past 5:30 PM, i have showered and have my pjs on...) so i grab my purse, my laptop and my knitting and run across to eric's apartment (he lives in a building perpendicular to mine) where others from my building are gathered. also a md. state tropper lives over there, he saw the lightning strike and called the fire department and police. he and his girlfriend and the other guy from that building knocked on all the doors to get everyone out. i decide to run back in to my apartment to put on jeans and real shoes (i was wearing my slippers which are now soaked due to rain). i should explain my building first, two levels, 16 apt. total, 8 on each side of hte building, clustered in groups of 4. so i live on the bottom level, 2nd of 4 apartments from the left. the lightning struck between the first and 2nd apartments on the right. i guess people who live on the first floor on the right said the lightning came into the apartment, i didn't even know it was possible. the fire trucks show up, probably three and they get up on the roof. i don't know if there were even more firetrucks on the other side of the building. from what i could see and heard they opened up the roof since there was smoke up there (i never saw huge flames or anything, but it did smell like smoke) and went into the top apartments of the people on the right side and i think broke into their walls to make sure nothing was smoldering. the people on the four right hand side apartments aren't allowed back in and there are notices up. i guess they have smoke and water damage. after the fire department searched and checked my apartment, i was allowed to go back to my apartment. of course i was totally freaking out and slept very little last night, but i knew that no matter where i was trying to sleep, i would not be able to get any rest last night so i stuck it out. and the fire department assured me that they wouldn't let me back in unless it was really safe. i hope they put those other people up someone... one of the neighbors from the other building offered for me to stay there and d said i could come down to hers, but it was ok.
sorry for the boring camera phone photo, i forgot my camera inside (urgh!!). ok, so end of the story, everyone's ok.
posted by amy | 6:55 AM
2 Comments:
Yikes! That's scary stuff. Glad you're safe and your apartment is OK.
Thanks, it was a bit much on the drama side for me, but it's all ok. natasha said as if i needed more prodding to get out of DC, this was another big kick in the pants out!! (yes, we realize that there is lightning in pittsburgh too...)
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