Sadly, "tit" (This Is Thailand)

[Diesel St John]

The faint smell of smoke was not an unusual phenomena at my apartment building, especially since was always immediately followed by the sweet aromatic odor of incense used by the Buddhists and Hindus during their prayer rituals. However, this time the smokiness did not dissipate into the normally pleasing scent. Yet, consumed with my daily chores, I didn't give it much thought; besides, if there was any chance of a fire the smoke detectors that were on every floor would have immediately been set off.

Suddenly, the loud clamor of the fire alarm (not the smoke detectors) pierced the air; yet instead of getting up to investigate, I rolled my eyes in disgust and figured that it was just the "unruly" children in my apartment building who had a habit of pulling the fire alarms just for fun...and as I said before, had there been a fire the smoke detectors would have gone off...

"FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!"

The words took a moment to sink in before it registered in my brain that this was not some prank; this was the real thing and the person yelling "FIRE" was my husband!

Running to the front door I reached out to open it, but before I could turn the knob it flew open and my husband ran in. "The apartment above us is on fire! Get the fire extinguisher!" he ordered.

With the fire extinguisher in hand, my husband rushed up the stairs with my teenage son in tow. It was then I got my first look outside my front door; orange and red shadows flickered and lit up the stairwell and puffs of gray smoke floated down the hall towards me. I stood there in shock for a split second, but once the powerful smell of the smoke hit me I immediately went into action and yelled at my teenage daughter (who was pale as a sheet) to get ready to evacuate.

Within moments after he had left, my son ran back in with a look of terror on his face and screamed that we had to get out of here. Had it just been my children that I had to evacuate out of the apartment there would have been no problem; but we had several cats that we had rescued and there was no way any of us were about to leave them in a burning building. Grabbing cat carriers, suitcases, and tote bags (basically anything that we could find), my children and I began rounding up the cats and stuffed them safely into the containers.

In the rush to get the animals to safety, I suddenly realized that my husband had not returned and I called out to the kids that I was going up to check on him. Opening the door, a cloud of smoke rushed into the apartment as I stared into almost complete darkness; for some reason the emergency lighting had not come on. Covering my nose and mouth with my t-shirt, I ran my hand along the wall as a guide to try to feel my way up to the stairs; hoarsely I called out my husbands name and then he was suddenly appeared in front of me covered in soot. "We have to go" he said in an eerily calm voice.

Our arms and torsos were bleeding and torn to shreds by the sharp claws of the terrified cats yet somehow we were able to get them down seven flights of stairs with the help of neighbors and the staff of our apartment. I was the last one out the door behind my family, but then I heard a faint meowing. Having no other choice, I remained behind in the burning building to find the last remaining cat.

My cat proved to be very elusive and I had no idea how close the fire was and how much time I had left to safely get out. The only way to find out was to go up stairs and see for myself. Taking a wet towel, I wrapped it around my face and then blindly fought my way up the stairs. The fire had broken out the windows that faced into the hallway and the flames were lapping at the ceiling and walls like an ebbing tide. My eyes were tearing up and my chest felt as though it was burning, but I had to try to do something. Feeling my way back down the stairs I found a fire extinguisher that one of the neighbors had left outside their door and I went back upstairs.

Inching my way towards the fire until I could feel its heat on my skin, I pointed the fire extinguisher nozzle and pulled the lever. Bracing myself for the forceful blast of gray powder and loud 'whooshing' sound, I was shocked when nothing happened. The fire extinguisher (which I had learned had never been used before) was not working.

Running blindly back to my apartment, I slammed the door shut behind me and desperately begged my cat to come to me. A few minutes later, I had managed to trap her under the bed and just as I lunged at her I suddenly heard the wail of sirens...help was on its way! Running out onto the balcony; I looked out to see if I could see the fire trucks approaching; but my attention was diverted when I heard someone screaming; it was my daughter.

"My mom is still in the building!" she yelled as she tried to get away from the people who were holding her back from going back into the building. Waving my arms and whistling, I tried to get her attention so she could see that I was okay, but my voice was drowned out by all the alarms and sirens.

The firemen were on their way up when I finally emerged from the burning building covered in soot, blood and sweat; and under my arm, my cat was safely zipped up in a tote. I was greeted by looks of disbelief when the people who had gathered in the parking lot when they realized I had been in the building the whole time. "Mom!" I heard my daughter screech just before she threw herself into my arms sobbing.

With everyone safe; I finally tried to let out a breath of relief; yet the only thing that came out was a dark blood as I began coughing uncontrollably. Good Samaritans and EMT's came to my aid and immediately administered oxygen, cleaned up my wounds and tried to cool me down with makeshift cardboard fans. However, I didn't have the luxury of being tended to as my daughter (who has a debilitating disease), suddenly fainted. Once again the sound of sirens filled the air as they rushed my daughter and me to the hospital. Luckily, my daughter had just been dehydrated; yet I had suffered severe damage to my lungs.

We were allowed to return to our apartment the same day of the fire; and although the actual flames did not reach us, there was damage from the smoke all over the walls, floors and furniture. A few days had passed and we waited for the manger and owner to some and check out the damage. but no one came except some of the neighbors who thanked my husband profusely for sounding the alarm. Finally, I had to seek out the manager (who was definitely trying to avoid us) and asked him when someone was coming to repair the damage to our apartment and when were the smoke detectors going to be fixed? "They are not got to be repaired" the manager said and then he mumbled something as he walked away about the fire being a "technical problem” and that the owner was not responsible.

Furious at him, I chased him down and demanded to speak with the owner (who never even bothered to show up after the fire and the manager surprisingly said he would pass on my request. Four days after the fire, we finally received a message from the owner; but instead of concern or even a "Thank you" to my husband for sounding the alarm, we received an eviction notice!

Although our lease was valid and we were current on our rent, the owner and manager gave us three days to move out, or we could pay him 100,000 Baht and he would graciously give us two weeks to move out.

This had to be a sick joke and I confronting the manager, yet all he said was that we were causing problems and that the owner wants us out and there was nothing we could do about it. I may have been in shock from everything, but I certainly wasn't stupid and I immediately made it clear that I knew that they couldn't legally throw us out and they owed us money for breaking our lease. They knew I was right, so in retaliation, they turned off our electricity.

With all the medical bills due to the fire and having to replace personal items that were lost or damaged, we were financially trapped and didn't have the resources to just go get another apartment the next day. Luckily, with the kindness of our neighbors, we hooked up extension cords to their outside power and were able to run some fans and keep the food cold. Yet, when the manager found out that we had power (after we caught him prowling around our pitch dark hallway, peering through the cracks of our door and climbing up the fire escape to spy on us) he went into their apartment when they left for work the next day and turned off their electricity…then things really got bad.

My heart gave out the day after the eviction notice from complications from the smoke damage and I was hospitalized; then after some idle threats (or so we thought) by the manager to move out or "else", my daughter was physically assaulted. To add insult to injury, the police said they couldn’t do anything and suggested that even though what the manager is doing is illegal, we should move out. Fortunately, an official volunteer interpreter from the police station took pity on us and convinced the manger to turn back on the electricity for a few days.

So, as I sit here trying figure out another way to fight for our rights before the electricity is turned off again, I started thinking about why this was happening to us? We have never hurt anybody, we are known for rescuing Soi cats and we are always the ones that everyone comes to when they need help; so why us?

Sadly, the only answer seems to be what everyone keeps telling me; ““TiT” (This is Thailand).

[Semper]

I started thinking about why this was happening to us?

Being Falangs?

[kevvy]

mmmmmmmmm.. such detail where was this fire? can you please tell us ...

[norrona]

you risked life and limb for a cat....also you take in stray cats to your building, don't expect any sympathy from many on here...

if your husband hadn't have raised the alarm so quick then maybe the whole building would have burned down and the owner got paid out on insurance?

Maybe it's a case of the cat loving 'falang' bringing bad karma to the building so better they go....who knows but your medical bills etc have been nothing but your own doing.

I hope you find a solution

[kevvy]

so the apartment ABOVE you was on fire and yet you got so much smoke damage , i always thought smoke went upwards and not down

[Ulysses G.]

This kind of thing happens very occasionally in Thailand. It is far from the norm.

[TheMysteriousMrTesla]

An abject lesson in the need for renters insurance!

I too would be interested as to where and when this occured, if only to know where to avoid (smoke detectors inoperable), you may PM me if you wish.

If you had simply left your apartment and closed the door behind you your cats would likely have survived (being below the fire) and you would not have such serious medical issues.

[Songhua]

I'm surprised the fire dept got there before the building burned down.

[TommoPhysicist]

Only a fool would risk their life, and their children's, for a cat.

[Swiss1960]

IF this is true:

- what you did after the fire ("Furious at him, I chased him down and demanded to speak with the owner") made him loose face, so now he wants to get rid of you...

- what you did during the fire was just absolutely stupid being a mother with a disabled child, running back into a burning building to rescue a cat (in the 7th floor that is...) => don't blame anybody for your body harm.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Swiss1960

[Semper]

I'm surprised the fire dept got there before the building burned down.

Located next door/nearby?

[DocN]

Aaaaah....typical TV- reactions.

A tells story and asks question...

B,C,D,E,F, etc. are telling A what an idiot she is for doing 1 or 2 or even 3!

What a happy bunch you are!

[breadbin]

There are a few spelling mistakes as well as grammar. You should check your work after writing it.

This is my only advice.

Plus I don't really care for cats.

[MAJIC]

Had the Apartment been owned by a Farang Landlord,the apologists would be taking a different viewpoint,no doubt!

[p_brownstone]

Only read as far as the part where you claim you wasted (yes - wasted) time rescuing cats when you, your husband and - more importantly - your children were apparently in real danger.

Crazy and irresponsible behaviour - seriously.

Patrick

[bangkokrick]

Aaaaah....typical TV- reactions.

A tells story and asks question...

B,C,D,E,F, etc. are telling A what an idiot she is for doing 1 or 2 or even 3!

What a happy bunch you are!

Agree Doc what a bunch hey. Maybe karma will take it's due course going forward.

[Ulysses G.]

Only read as far as the part where you claim you wasted (yes - wasted) time rescuing cats .

Some folks would say the same thing about a human being if they were a stranger. Leaving an animal that you love to burn to death might motivate some people to take a serious risk.

[jackr]

There are a few spelling mistakes as well as grammar. You should check your work after writing it.

This is my only advice.

Plus I don't really care for cats.

Did you mean to say 'there are a few spelling mistakes and grammatical errors'. Make sure you're on the money when you're trying to be smart.

[muythai2013]

were you aware of the spead of a fire when you hung about to try and save things less valuable then your life.

take note, when the cat was scratching you to pieces, it was not so he could get loose and lead you to safety.

[muythai2013]

There are a few spelling mistakes as well as grammar. You should check your work after writing it.

This is my only advice.

Plus I don't really care for cats.

Did you mean to say 'there are a few spelling mistakes and grammatical errors'. Make sure you're on the money when you're trying to be smart.

check your work before posting, who cares as long as you can read it <deleted>.

nothing more pathetic on this planet then people who check peoples posts for errors.

[bangkokrick]

There are a few spelling mistakes as well as grammar. You should check your work after writing it.

This is my only advice.

Plus I don't really care for cats.

Did you mean to say 'there are a few spelling mistakes and grammatical errors'. Make sure you're on the money when you're trying to be smart.

check your work before posting, who cares as long as you can read it <deleted>.

nothing more pathetic on this planet then people who check peoples posts for errors.

Breadbin obviously does.

[cdnvic]

Get back on topic please. Enough grammar school.

[catmac]

Well done to the OP for actually caring about her pets. Take no notice of the various lowlife that inhabit this board, who delight in sneering and ridiculing anyone who isn't as selfish and cruel as themselves.

Your exposure of the pathetic mentality and incompetence of your Thai condo managers inevitably brought down the wrath of the Thai apologists here, and the Grammar Nazis are always hovering around looking for an easy target.

[Colonel_Mustard]

mmmmmmmmm.. such detail where was this fire? can you please tell us ...

I thought the same. I've never seen an actual event written on a forum in such a format. At first I thought I was reading an extract from a poorly written novel.

[muythai2013]

Well done to the OP for actually caring about her pets. Take no notice of the various lowlife that inhabit this board, who delight in sneering and ridiculing anyone who isn't as selfish and cruel as themselves.

Your exposure of the pathetic mentality and incompetence of your Thai condo managers inevitably brought down the wrath of the Thai apologists here, and the Grammar Nazis are always hovering around looking for an easy target.

you ever wandered around the burns unit in a hospital, or do you realise a fire can rip through a place so fast that stopping to get something can cost a life.

not saying he is bad for doing it, im a cat lover i had same in vietnam and they tasted great, but you need to understand its dangerous and not worth it.

very few people actually understand the speed and strange things fire does until its to late.

Edited January 21, 2013 by muythai2013

[Stradavarius37]

True or not, the vitriol and bile being spewed here by disinterest bystanders (or perhaps keyboard warrior is more correct) is sad to behold. Bars must have closed early today I guess.

[I Like Thai]

Story is lies, that's the main reason people are taking the mickey out of it. It wouldn't be possible to inhale the fumes she claimed that she did and escape.

[cdnvic]

Nobody is forcing anyone to read the topic. If you have issues with it, we have thousands of others you can read.

[Rob8891]

I was a part-time firefighter for over 10 years, and the story just does not ring true. Sorry. Generally smoke (which is unburnt hot gases) will rise rather than fall to a lower floor. Also, if the smoke was as thick as the OP suggests, then going back into that would mean survival would have been most unlikely.

Not criticism for the sake of it, but observations based on training and experience.

[pmarlin]

Nice to know what city in Thailand and if in Bangkok what area or soi the fire took place. Did this happen recently or is this an old report.