Well, that was a first!

Yesterday Kaiden and I stayed at home to rest and not go anywhere, much needed for us both. It's been busy, a good busy though. While we rested, Mikey went to help his dad and their foster kid cut down a Christmas tree for his parent's house. Around 5:30 in the evening, I started smelling a smoky smell in Kaiden's room. This has happened before when our neighbors used their fireplace. For some reason, we can smell it through the attic access which is in Kaiden's closet. So I noted it and wasn't too alarmed because it's never been anything before.

Thirty minutes later, the smell is super super strong so I put Kaiden in our bed. It was so strong I decided to call Mike up at his parents just to see what he thought and let him know I was concerned that it was THIS strong. When I described what I smelt, he told me to knock on our neighbor's door and see if they (two college girls-very nice) had a fire going in their fireplace. So I popped over and asked. They weren't at all and even at that said they had to crack a few doors because their place was getting hazy with smoke. Huh?!?

I called Mike back, and he was very concerned. So he told me to call 911 to have the guys come out and just check to be safe. Ok, so I've never called 911 and I definitely want to keep our home safe, BUT I was super nervous to call because I know it will cause a bit of a ruckus (Yes, I'm that shy and don't like to draw attention to situations). The thing that alarmd me is that just in the past couple weeks, there's been several house fires. It seems to happen everytime it snows, so the firefighters say. So, I call 911 and explain I don't see any smoke but my husband was concerend about the smell, and the girls next door did have some smoke. The dispatcher said they were sending someone over to check it out.

So in the next few minutes comes the giant ladder truck (because we're in a complex on the 2nd floor), another truck, the Rescue, and battalion chief. In come the guys, checking K's room and the attic for signs of heat, etc. They also checked all the neighbors' houses. Of course, during all this Mike is on his way home (as soon as I got off the phone with him before I called 911). They never found the source of the smoke/smell, but they thought it did look like one of our downstairs neighbors had a fire in the fireplace ALL day and since all the pipes are connected, maybe there was a crack in a pipe that caused the upstairs condos to get a draft. That pipe would be SUPER hot after being used all day. I think our property manager is getting the chimney and pipes inspected this week to see if that's what it was.

So VERY thankfully, there was no fire or the start of one. I was definitely nervous, especially with it just being Kaiden and I, plus Mike had the good car because it was snowing. It was kind of cool to see the guys I've met several times and ate dinner with at the station in their actual gear and doing their job. They were so friendly and helpful.

I can now check "calling 911" of my list of things I've never done before. Thank goodness for DFRA!