When disaster strikes

What would you do if someone screamed, “Fire!” in the middle of the night? I guess, you would immediately begin looking for the valuables, line them up in the sitting room and then take them out of the house.

Well, that is what I thought, until it actually happened. I had been working late on Friday night but at 12.30pm I had had enough. I turned in and fell asleep immediately.
Deep in my dream, I heard a man shouting about a fire. I do not know how, but I just jumped out of bed and grabbed a towel and my laptop. For a second or two, I searched frantically for the keys. Thank God, they were on the table near me.

I opened and ran out, leaving everything in the house. Outside, I watched as one part of my neighbour’s house went up in flames.

The fire was so high it was reaching for the electric wires from the pole. People came out of their houses and all we could do was look on, in shock. And then, the man who had shouted told us there was some petrol in his kitchen. That is when we all run to the road fearing the house was going to explode.

But thank God for some men who are of the old class, very courageous. The man, who lives across from our house, got out of his house – shirtless – and rallied us to come back and fight the fire.

I was thinking about all the furniture I would have to buy again. My money, identity cards, academic transcripts, phones, and ATM cards were in the bedroom. I only had a towel on me.
As the fire reached the electric fuses, sparks lit the sky. That man entered the house and switched off the electricity, and together with other men, they began pouring water on the fire. Another one called the police. Then, someone said water does not do well with electricity, so the men began ferrying sand from the building opposite and pouring it on the fire.

They were joined by drunkards leaving bars at that time. They fought that fire for about an hour and conquered it just as it was entering the ceiling. During that time, the police came and milled around a bit then returned to their patrol car.

After the fire went down, we congregated in front of the house to congratulate ourselves. Truly, it was a miracle. Only one part of our neighbour’s house had been burnt. The fire had not reached my house.

We started laughing at those who sleep naked at night. You should have seen the clothes people wore! That is when the fire brigade truck arrived. We were angry but they doused the smoking embers anyway.
Moral of the story: do not sleep naked.