FIRE!!!

This was the view from my flat in the early hours of this morning - and it's my building that they are at!

Shortly before midnight I heard a smoke alarm go off and I waited for somone to turn it off - but no-one did. Instead, some of my upstairs neighbours knocked on my door. The sound was coming from the flat above mine which is unoccupied - following the flood at the beginning of this year. I have keys for that flat, so we went in, could smell smoke and then one of the neighbours opened the kitchen door - and black smoke poured out. He got a fire extinguisher and managed to put the fire out. Meanwhile, another neighbour had called the fire brigade and three fire engines turned up. They spent quite a while checking all was OK in the flat where the fire had been, in the roof space above that flat and in the building next door. All was OK and eventually they left. It seems likely that it was an electrical fire. I'm really grateful for the smoke alarm, the fact that I had keys and that Grant was willing to tackle the fire with an extinguisher.

I feel sorry for the owners of the flat above - the flood damage had been repaired, but no doubt the flat will be in a mess again. But I really hope nothing more bad comes out of that flat!