I am a middle aged woman with invisible disabilities, other than that people will see me walking with a cane or walker.
It could have easily been me and my apartment in that Fairview Apartment fire. I live in a very old building and the owners unfortunately do not like to fix anything until it’s completely at end. Thus my electric heating went on that Friday into a mode that was as hot as a dangerously very high heated oven. I did manage to get a hold of the management contact for the building who did what they could to connect me with their fix-it man. It took the entire weekend, with two time periods where my inside of apartment was as cold as outside. By the Monday evening, even though I now had cough/cold/flu symptoms for which I had to get over the counter help, I at least had heat. I thank the workman, you know who you are for getting me my heat back.
Thus in the wee hours (4 a.m.) when my body awoke me, the first thing I noticed was no number lights on my alarm clock and how dark it was around me and I was scared. After I stumbled and found my flashlight and then took note that my entire building was dark, it was a relief to know it was not just my suite.
I then looked out my patio windows to see the wet snow still flying and the huge amount that had fallen. I also took note that a two block radius was blackened out. This is not a day for me that I can just stay in bed until whatever, it is a volunteer day.
Thank goodness for cooking timers at times like this and so I set it for one hour thinking I’d have to do that times the number of one hour sets to awake for my day. Again, I thank whomever in this city fixes situations like that, for by 5:15 a.m. the alarm clock was back on along with power and lights for the building and around the block.
I took pictures when it was all blackened for I felt some would not believe me as I’d already been laughed at last night as I expressed to some the weather report for this week. Thank you to the workmen/women who take care of such matters so that we can have heat and etc. I guess I’ll be really leaning on my cane as I go to my volunteer position today.
Sheryl Ann Wilson
Penticton