On my second day home in the city there was a huge, awful, surprise in the apartment building my Bestie, his brother and I live in... a great and terrible flood.
I returned from the store nearby and was walking through the lobby to the elevator when an older gentleman approached me in angry hysterics and trying to tell me something while I still had my headphones in my ears. Uncertain as to what he was raging about, and of course feeling on the defensive that someone was coming very close to my personal space while flailing his arms I stepped back and removed the earplugs and asked him to slow down and that I could not hear him so he would need to start again.
He yells at me that his apartment has water everywhere and the emergency maintenance number listed on the door of the leasing office was clearly incorrect because he couldn't get through at all and that he was getting a voice mail. He then proceeds to call the leasing consultants and the maintenance workers all kinds of names and list all the faults he finds in their work ethic and character. I couldn't argue with him on some of them, but I did not give him much of a response on that matter, furthermore my concern was more for his behaviour and the situation of flooding in his apartment. The gentleman clearly was dialling the wrong number and I don't think he knew how to use his phone he had in his hand; I could see it was brand new, and a cordless, and I suspected his suite (which I found out later I was correct on that thought) was many floors up and that phone could only go so far before it could not dial up because it was too far from the signal to it's base. When I pointed out the number he should be dialling he suddenly claimed it was the one he was trying, I knew better just because he changed what he said about which number he tried calling... I dialled maintenance and got through right away, and as I am trying to speak to them he is yelling more so I couldn't even speak properly, plus, the voice at the other end said he would have to call in as it was his suite and to avoid any confusion that I was calling for my apartment instead of his.
As I left him to drop off my stuff and then see what I could find out for myself, I saw the suites across from me had some serious water bubbles forming outside their waters and puddles forming in the carpet outside the doors. I travelled upward and discovered his suite was just above my neighbours and their appeared to be a river in the hallway. The gentleman appeared out of the elevator at that moment and screeches at me that he still cannot call them. Instead of summarizing to him that I don't think he is in any state to call anyone properly because he was raging (well for good reason), also the distance he was at with his cordless and the fact that it appeared he didn't know how to use it properly I called maintenance myself. Between maintenance trying to get information from me and the gentleman screeching at me it was a gong-show. I firmly reprimanded him for how it was not solving anything and walked away to complete the call myself (to which he apologized for later and I was grateful that he showed some accountability for his actions even though I understand his reasons). I informed them of all I could and how it was working it's way down to the other floors.
Sadly this was not the only building in the corporation's listings that got a flood hit, as well our maintenance worker and their lovely spouse had been enjoying their weekend until they got the call and they apologized and said head office had called him about thirty-five minutes after my call. WOW! They called that late after I explained how bad it was, which just made me think of all the damage that was being done.
I could hear in the suites outside the doors further down (directly below the gentleman's apartment) of sounds that made me think of rainfall. What made things feel worse to me was my Bestie's brother's apartment was a mere two floors below where the flood was coming from, and I could hear water pouring into it.
Panicked after I made the call I went to action-girl mode and made calls and texts to Bestie and his dear brother about what was happening; when no one was answering my texts were sent in cap letters, I left voice mails, I even posted online... desperate to get a hold of one of them. In the meantime I knocked on doors in case anyone was in their suites and may need assistance. The dear sibling was out of town, Bestie was asleep but awakened after I called and sent messages and he came to see what he could do to help.
After maintenance showed up to try and fix things, Bestie requested a key for his brother and mentioned that his brother had called into the head office for Bestie to pick up so he could get in; luckily maintenance got the call and knew all about it already. While he and maintenance went downstairs to figure out keys, get the necessary tools to stop the water as well as shut off the water in the building, I ran to my place to move the whole side of my apartment that could face water coming in from above. In a mere five minutes the one side of my home was cluttered with everything I had in my place.
As soon as Bestie got the key he messaged me, and mere seconds after he said we would need buckets. I walked into his brother's place to see it filled with water on the floor and the whole place being rained on from the ceiling. I brought buckets, pots and pans and retrieved what I could from his brother's cupboards to catch water where we could. In five hours we were emptying our water catchers and shovelling water into the tub and toilet (I scooped twenty-eight litres off water off the floor), as well as moving all we could in his place out of the way and putting it in safer spots where they couldn't get wet; as well as taking lots of things to the garbage bins downstairs or through the chutes, particularly throwing out boxes and papers that were covered in water and quickly growing mold already.
No sooner had we had got the apartment cleared up as best we could for the cleaners, they showed up and sucked excess water from the carpet and floor and proceeded to place the machines in the suite that would help dry things up and prevent molding. In a couple of days they would need to return to steam and sanitize everything. The more work to be done would be by others on the floors and walls for stripping, replacing and to do some painting too.
Being the optimists Bestie and I are, we thought of many things with regards to this event:
-How I had suddenly come home the night of the seventh instead of the eighth, and how if I had not been going in and out of my home when I was during the day that I may not have been there right when the gentleman was so panicked and angry, and how he may not have received the help he needed.
-If all three of us in our triad (Bestie, brother and I) did not live in the same building when the emergency occurred his place might not have been saved, and there would have been much worse damage to the suite and his belongings especially because he was out of town.
-The strength and endurance Bestie and I both had to tackle the flood crisis.
-My realization that not only we have such an awesome friendship but that we make an AMAZING team in times of trial, and not just when we are out having fun (or causing trouble as my Mom says... who also always humours we should were public warning signs when we are out together).
Phew! GO TEAM!!!
~Ange.
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