Fire and Water

What an exciting day yesterday was.  First the annual fire evacuation plan was executed. As the fire alarm went off  I dutifully evacuated the building and was surprised to see that only one other couple did the same. This year I could actually smell smoke in the stairwell and a fireman and team member passed me on the stairs, to deal with the smoke, which had been created using a smoke machine. The fire engine arrived as I got outside.  Things were a bit quiet then as the staff were addressed by the fire chief.  Then the fun began.  A fireman had set up a small stove with a pan on it, as we watched it began smoking, eventually bursting into flame.  The fireman demonstrated what not to do, throwing water on the pan made it worse, a damp cloth didn't help either.  Then he poured in some cold oil and that worked. Next was how to deal with exploding gas bottles.  Finally petrol was poured on the ground and set alight, the flames jumped so high that for a moment I thought that the foliage on the second floor was in danger of catching alight.  The condo staff each took a turn in dealing with the various scenarios.  

So where does the water come into it?  That came about an hour later when the heavens opened.  The storm that came through was so severe that it brought down a main cable consequently our whole area lost power for two hours.  We did our usual swim, then we had to have a cold shower, I really thought that I would be going out with wet hair, but fortunately the power returned in time for me to use the hairdryer.   When went out we did notice that a few places were still without full power and were using candles.  Indeed the restaurant we went to put candles on the tables, she said it was to provide a romantic atmosphere.  

We still have pollution problems despite the rain.  We also had a storm on Monday and we momentarily lost power. In that instance the main storm hit when we were swimming, I got out of the water as I don't like swimming in heavy rain, and certainly not when there is thunder.

I hope that you are all remaining safe and well.