these are not my walls

This is how you know I am the most observant person in the world:

Tonight, I heard sirens outside my building.

This is not, in and of itself, unusual; we live on a relatively major road, and the firehouse is just a couple of doors down. Not a day goes by that we don't hear a cop car or an ambulance go shrieking by and, less frequently, a firetruck.

(Less frequently because we live on a one-way street, and the firehouse is up the street from us. Or down the street, depending on how *you* use the terms "up" and "down". Point is, you cannot legally drive from the firehouse to our building without going on a few other streets and making some right-hand turns first.)

A few minutes later, I glance outside and notice what appears to be flashing lights. So, I mosey on over to my balcony and glance around to see who's got the cops breaking down their door.

There are four - FOUR! - firetrucks parked outside my building. Like, ladder trucks. Plus one fire department SUV.

I don't see any flames or smoke, so I'm looking up and down my street to see where the fire fighters are headed. Which is when I notice that the door to my building is stuck open, and there are fire fighters coming in and out. In full turnout gear.

Uh...

I mean, I didn't hear our fire alarm go off, I didn't smell smoke, NOTHING.

So I head on down and ask a fire fighter what's going on. It appears that someone went to sleep with a pot on their stove, their unit filled with smoke, their smoke alarm went off, and a neighbour called 9-1-1. And 4 firetrucks responded.

I can't decide if they genuinely thought that kind of response was required, or if they were all just a little bored and figured it wasn't that far to go, anyway, so they might as well check it out.

I hear the fire fighters gave her a huge lecture, though, so I guess she won't be doing that again.

Ouch!