After the fire, the what-ifs


In the aftermath of our fire, all I could think about was how much worse it could have been. What if it had started next to a set of flammable curtains? We idiots had no fire extinguisher. What would have happened if the power strip had sparked when we were asleep? Even bigger idiots, we did not have any smoke detectors in our apartment like most in Malaysia. In either scenario we could have succumbed to smoke inhalation or carbon monoxide poisoning, or we could have watched the entire apartment go up in flames, or we could have become toast ourselves.

Ouch, painful lessons to almost learn the really hard way. So we have taken ourselves to ACE Hardware at a nearby mall and purchased a combo smoke and carbon monoxide detector for our new apartment. Not sure yet how we are going to mount it onto a ceiling that is basically concrete yet. We bought a handy fire extinguisher, but in typical fashion it is a few months past it’s expiration date. Well, something is better than nothing. The property management company also finally commissioned a review of the wiring in our new apartment, which was all pronounced safe and in good working order. Armed with these reassurances I feel much better about living in the same building under the same landlord with the same property management company. Fingers crossed that we’ll avoid any similar accidents over the next 5 months we are in Penang.

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