Yesterday (New Years’ Day) around 4:45pm I started hearing tons of sirens and they all seemed to be stopping very close to my condo. I immediately clicked one of my favorite shortcuts on my laptop (more on that later) and found out there were 19 fire department units on their way to 2111 Westlake Ave N. For those of you that don’t know where that is, Lakewest Condominiums are on Westlake right across the street from Boat World and Julie’s Landing. They just went through a HUGE project redoing just about everything on the exterior…roof, siding, windows, doors, etc. You may have seen the building “wrapped” during construction. I lived there for years and so I walked over to see if any of my old neighbors needed assistance. That’s when I snapped this picture with my iPhone. I have to say, the Seattle Fire Department does not mess around. They were everywhere…the roof, the back fire escape stairwell, the lobby and all over Westlake Ave N which they closed down both ways for a short amount of time. I was told by one of the owners in the 2111 building that there was a problem with a fire in one of the fireplaces (it looked like one of the top floor units) perhaps involving a “presto log”. The firemen apparently handled the situation and began to wrap everything up fairly quickly. This a great reminder that if you haven’t changed the batteries (if needed) and checked your smoke detector lately now would be the time to do that. Also, if your live in a multi-family building and your association does not have an owner/renters roster get one started NOW and then keep it somewhere handy. If you live in a single-family home you might want to think about puting together a roster for your neighborhood. It’s good to be able to get hold of your neighbors quickly. Lastly, do you have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen? I do. But I must admit I originally brought it home from the boat because I had an extra one. I’ve never had to use it but it does make sense to have one here.
OK, now for those of you that don’t know about that cool site that always tells me where the fire sirens are going and why, here is a link: http://bit.ly/8QxkSG. It covers the city of Seattle and tells you the time, address and type of emergency as well as how many and what types of units have been dispatched It came in handy several weeks ago when they announced a boat fire at Lake Union on the “Breaking News” on the news but had no address. I just clicked and knew it was at a marina 3 blocks from my marina. I’ve also used it to make sure that it isn’t one of my listing around the lake that is in trouble. Go visit and save it if you’d like.
