Sep 7, 2022, Wed — Not a false alarm this time, folks. You know those annoying smoke and carbon monoxide alarms? Well, my niece went to my house around 4PM today to water my houseplants as I’m in Colorado and my alarms were shrieking non-stop. Saying it was carbon monoxide. She called me and wow they were so loud over the phone, Cleo the dog here, went into PTSD. My stove is right by the door so she ascertained that everything was off, but still she was wise not to go inside beyond that. She left and I called 911 and got the fire department over there.
But first, I called the landlord (husband and wife) because husband had visited just as I was flying out. I called them to see if maybe he had left something on downstairs. No, no, he doesn’t cook. He only microwaves. It must be your batteries. Hmm… that didn’t seem right. But, okay. I’ll call 911 and let them sort it out.
Well, it WAS carbon monoxide! My landlord left his stove on low. The gas had been building up since Sunday when he left. Four days! And I had not told my neighbor I was leaving… I’d meant to text her when I was at the airport and completely forgot. They could hear the alarms, but figured, well, I don’t know what, that I was home and must know about it, I guess??
The thing is, carbon monoxide is not only deadly, it is flammable. And with the 113 degree heat and Redding being a tinder box, this could’ve taken out the half the town. Not to mention all my art from the last 4 years.
Or F, my niece, could’ve thought, oh, bah, and gone ahead and watered. Carbon monoxide kills you very quickly. Thankfully, she was the smartest one of all. Not only did she not go in, but she’s the one who suggested I call 911. I had called the property manager on the advice of the landlord (who only microwaves), and even the property managers did not suggest calling 911. They were going to wait until morning to send a handyman over! Aren’t they the pros? Dudes, alarms going for smoke or gas, call 911 ASAP!!!
It was not a false alarm. Batteries chirp when they need changing, they don’t scream nonstop. The whole thing is a huge lesson. We are all very very lucky.
On that note, it is now 9PM Colorado time, so 4 hours later it is resolved. Thanks to Chance. Normally you wouldn’t want to leave things like this to chance, but I’m talking about Chance, with a capital C, he was the firefighter!
And now, I hope you’ll take your chance and sign up for the art giveaway! Thank you very much. And what a great time to buy originals — they still exist!
