Ladder is directly above my condo.

An interesting way to kick off 2010…

I arrived back in Seattle earlier today after spending a couple days in Phoenix, where I watched the Cyclones beat Minnesota in the Insight Bowl. This afternoon, I went over to Joel and Lisa’s place to watch the Rose Bowl. One of Lisa’s friends was on her way to their place when she called to ask if I was there. She wanted to warn me that firetrucks were racing to my condo complex and Westlake Avenue was blocked off. So, I left the game watch and drove to a street behind my place to see what was going on. Turns out, the ladder from the firetruck was extended right above my condo. I ran around the front of my place and found about a half dozen different fire department trucks. There were no flames or smoke to be seen, which was a good thing. Apparently, a duraflame type log burning in a unit two floors down had caused an excessive amount of smoke that triggered the fire alarms.

Inside the lobby of the condo, I encountered two firefighters. They indicated that the back door of my unit had been damaged when they were entering to see if everyone was safe. They said the city of Seattle would be paying for the door. It’s good to know the firefighters are fast-responding and aggressive.

Here are two more pictures from the incident –

Firefighter taking a look at the forced entry

Yep, I think this door will need to be replaced.