In Case of Fire... Don't Panic

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Our place burned down March 19, 2011. We lost our home and most of our Medical Equipment which is our business. The fire started from our neighbors and we still do not know the actual cause. Some things I learned from this tragedy and about myself. Don't panic and I'm not as tough as I think. The fire started at around 9:30AM. I was still asleep because I came home around 3AM that morning. My girlfriend had already called me up earlier to remind me I had a meeting to attend (which I had already cancelled earlier). Our Office downstairs was already open and they were already entertaining customers. Suddenly, a woman started shouting fire outside our store which prompted my Tita Sol to run up the stairs where our living quarters were. Sure enough, the next door neighbors' place was already blazing. Our buildings are only about a 2 and a half meters apart. She knocked furiously on my door which prompted me to wake up when I heard her screaming "Fire". Instinct took over. I jumped off of my bed, ran out my room and saw the fire outside, I ran downstairs as fast as I could and reached the bathroom, took a pail of water, ran up the stairs, water spilling everywhere and tried to douse the fire which had now reached our window. My pail of water was no use. I ran into my room, grabbed my bag, my laptop, my phone and ran out again only to step on a wet spot and down I went from the top of our stairs to the 2nd floor (which is around 10 feet) luckily I remembered to protect my head with my left hand. I slid off the stairs and was horizontal (from one of our employees account) and crashed heavilly head first at the bottom feet first but my head hit the ground first. The rest of my body, aided with gravity followed and now I know what it feels like to be body slammed by a wrestler. My laptop landed on me. I think I blacked out for a second but as soon as I was up I handed him my bag and laptop and went back up to check on my brothers in their room. I rushed into their room and found no one. Allen, my cousin who shares a room with them, was already downstairs. The fire was already inside our house and things were falling from the ceiling. The glass from our windows were breaking from the heat. I rushed out of their room and jumped over a small blaze, looked outside the window to see if the neighbors got out, I saw no one. I headed for my room and grabbed some pants. I knew I was gonna burn. I put on my pants as quick as I could with only one functioning arm (which at that time I could not understand why I couldn't lift it) and draped the other one over my head and shoulders. I took the pail and doused myself with what little water was left. When I opened the door I was shocked at how fast the fire had engulfed the 3rd floor. Fire was already eating the floor and things were dropping from the ceiling. I could see a small hole to pass through. I grit my teeth. Ran out. Stepped over some flames. Something dropped on my head and hit my arm before falling to the floor. I grabbed the railing to the stairs and pulled myself towards it. I raced down the stairs and met Allen who was on his way back up. I was already crying from the pain and the stress and I held on to him and pushed him down. I was able to push his mass in front of me because of the adrenaline. I told him to get out. I heard a heavy crash and something hot blew into our faces as we raced towards the first floor. I was pushing people out. I opened my dad's room screamed get out. No one was there. Looked at our back storage area. No one there. Kitchen. No one. medicine storage area, no one. My tita was still inside the office trying to grab some things. I shouted at them to get out because the fire was already inside our building. And then the lights went out. We made it all out. I don't know who I was leaning on as I got out with no slippers and only a pair of pants on. I took my cellphone out and called my Dad. All I could say was "Tay, Sunog." (Dad, Fire). No words followed, I could not help myself from crying. I tried to fight it back but all I could do was wail. What seemed like an eternity from the time I got up to the time I got out was somewhere between 2 to 5 minutes. Outside our house it was already chaos. Everyone was trying to save what they could with their stocks and other goods. I was lead to the opposite street. Still crying into the phone. I later learned that my dad understood what I wanted to say even if I only said little. He weaved in and out of traffic and got to our place and started directing people where to go. I was taken to the hospital for the burns on my back, arms and feet as well as the fractured shoulder caused by the fall. As the paramedics were leading me towards the ambulance I looked one last time at our building and saw the flames coming out of my windows. I cried again. The fire was out at around 4PM that afternoon. Our lives changed because of this fire. But I am thankful that my brothers were not home at the time of the tragedy and that my Tita remembered Allen and I were upstairs. She saved our lives. And I am thankful that somewhere in me is a stubborn will to live and that I did not panic even when I got hurt from the fall. I'm currently wearing an arm sling and will be wearing it for the next couple of weeks, and I shaved off what little was left of my hair. The burns on my body itch every now and then but they're healing nicely. TSK. sheesh. Fire does not discriminate.