Oh no, not again!

My apologies for using the same title twice in my blog, but you'll soon understand why.

I figure it's a cosmic joke that I went to bed without setting my alarm, happy in the thought that I could sleep in for once.  Then I tossed and turned for over two hours.  I eventually fell asleep but woke up with two new itchy spots.  (The new anti-itch gel works great.  I wasn't itchy in any of the places where I had applied it.)  I got up to apply on those two spots and to go to the bathroom before returning to bed, where I tossed and turned some more.  At this point, I figured I could take a nap the next day.

I woke at 3:55 a.m. because I heard a loud voice outside my window.  I peered between the blinds and saw an obese woman and her two obese children walking away, down the sidewalk.  I also saw – uh-oh! – red, flashing lights reflected on the wall of the next building.  I got dressed for the walk I was going to take anyway and went to investigate.

The parking lot was full of fire trucks, and I saw flames at the same apartment in the same building that caught fire earlier this week.  "Holy s*it, it's happening again," I muttered quietly.  (Spit?  Skit?  Slit?  Snit?  Swit?  Suit?  No, it couldn't be suit, or else I would've spelled it "holey".)  A fireman (or firewoman) was on the ladder truck, directing water at the adjacent part of the roof, so the fire wouldn't spread.  The flames I saw weren't bright nor tall, so I assume they were reasonably under control.  When I returned from my walk, a fireperson (?)  with a flashlight (or, ironically, "torch" for those of you in the English-speaking part of the world) was on the apartment's balcony, so I figure the fire was out (again).

At this point, I pondered that the gas and electric services to the damaged apartment and the affected ones around it should've been turned off after the fire.  Maybe they weren't.  (Yeah, "oops" would be a good word here.)  Maybe they were, and there's a bigger problem than initially thought.  Maybe there's a firebug in the neighborhood.

I suppose that the apartment manager was awake when all this was going on, but I didn't want to assume.  I'll wait until a decent hour to send her a text message and ask if she's stressing out.  Maybe she'll give me more information (if she has any) at that time.  I'll also check the local newspaper and TV websites later.  A repeat fire should get more attention from them this time.

Oh, yeah:  How is it possible that someone talking loudly outside my apartment can wake me up, but fire engine sirens won't?