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Monday, June 25, 2007

Caught on Fire

Since I had to leave the office two Fridays ago to prepare for Minnie’s birthday party, I had to work on Saturday because I had to complete the task that was given to me because I had a deadline the next Monday. I worked at the office at around 6:00 PM because I hang out at Minnie’s place. Since I was no longer productive at around 9:10 PM, I decided to go home.

When I arrived at the gate of Menara Jaya Condominium, I saw Ace, Francis and Rommel, my colleagues here in Malaysia. It seems that Ace wanted to borrow my umbrella because it was drizzling outside, but got shy at the last minute.

When I reached the pool area on my way to the elevator, the fire alarm rang. I decided not to take the lift and waited to hear what happened. A lot of people were running around. One guy from Daniel’s Café (the canteen in our unit) talked to one of the residents who came down due to the fire alarm, and he said that there was a fire in the 14th floor (our unit is in the 13th floor). I immediately called my Agri to check on her. Fortunately, she was on her way to the airport to pick her parents. Mars is currently in Shanghai China for a business trip.

I spoke to Agnes and her Gio, my colleagues who were living in Menara Jaya Condominium as well. I remembered Kathleen who was living in the 14th floor. I got worried that she’s alone since I saw her housemates, Rommel and Francis at the gate earlier that night. I tried to call her but she was not answering the phone. I learned from our few neighbors that the fire was indeed from the 14th floor and that the fire was already gone. I went to the 14th floor and it turned out that my instincts were right - it was their unit that was caught on fire. I immediately called her and she was still not answering her phone. I went downstairs and looked for her and I saw her at the first floor, was in shocked and was crying hysterically. The thing with her was that she is 6 months pregnant.

What happened was that one of her housemates left the kettle boiling. Her housemates left and failed to inform her about the kettle. Kathleen just heard an explosion and saw that their kitchen was on fire. She grabbed a pale of water from her bathroom to destroy the fire but to no avail. After a few minutes, she went outside and pressed the fire alarm button. Then she put all the things that she can salvage in her balikbayan box and took it together with her luggage. Fortunately, a lot of the residents and security were able to respond quickly. One of them bravely removed the LPG tank from the kitchen. Talk about having an angel!

After a few minutes, Kathleen decided to stay in our unit. She was having difficulty in breathing at that time and due to her delicate situation, we decided to bring her to the hospital. There were 3 of us who went to the hospital - Kathleen, Rose and I. It was already 1 AM when we reached the emergency room of Pantai Medical Center. Only 1 companion is allowed in the ER so it was Rose who accompanied Kathleen since she’s a mother as well and can totally relate to her condition. While waiting outside the ER, I got a call from her housemates who were on their way to the hospital.

When Francis and Rommel arrived at the hospital, we were informed that Kathleen needs to be admitted and that we need to give a deposit of RM 3,000. Where the hell are we supposed to get that amount of money during that time? Part of our benefits while working here in Malaysia is hospitalization insurance but it is still different when we have a health card. That’s when I really appreciate the value of having one. Fortunately, Francis was able to plead to admit Kathleen and promised that our employer would come the next day to pay them.

Anyway, Agri called me because her family were locked out from our unit (the keys that she took with her were not complete). So I had to rush home to open our unit. It was already 3 PM when we got in.

I woke up the next day at 8 AM and cooked beef sopas, fish and longganisa. Ace went with me that day to the hospital. Good thing that Kathleen was doing fine that night and she was no longer suffering from chesty cough due to the medicines that were given to her. The doctor said that she can go home but were waiting for Edmund (our employer) to arrive to settle the hospital bills. Ace and Rommel went home at around lunch time because they need to settle things with regards to the fire that happened earlier. Francis and I remained in the hospital to accompany Kathleen until Edmund arrives.

Edmund arrived at around 3 PM and Kathleen was discharged from the hospital. They took a look at their unit to see the damages while I went ahead with my movie date with Gen to watch at KLCC. Kathleen stayed with me in a week until the carbons in their unit were cleaned.

It was a long weekend with me at that time. I can’t help but admire the camaraderie that the Filipinos show during these times. I also have a high regard for Kathleen’s housemates who demonstrated a strong sense of responsibility. Witnessing these things strengthen my faith in people. Thank God that nobody was hurt in this situation.

posted by subhuman @ 10:01 AM

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