Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

I've started noticing a disturbing smell. Like burning plastic perhaps? But it shifts, turning sort of pine-y at times. Has the CPU fan stopped again? Nope. Wander upstairs ... is it coming from the convection heater? I hope not ...

Sirens. Lots of sirens.

Oh my. I wonder where the fire is. Glance at the window and see clouds of billowing white. But that's not smoke, that's wow is it snowing hard now. Move to the front of the house; more of the same, but gee, that smell is stronger...

Flashing lights at the corner. Then a moment later, *CHPOOOF!*, thick clouds of black smoke directly in front of me! Uh, maybe a couple of houses away? I hope it's not the building right on the corner. It looks like something in the unit block of South Fulton Ave though, for sure.

Between the snow and the fire equipment, maybe I won't dig the car out for a grocery run. Hmm. Am I feeling well enough to walk to the store and back?

At least it's not my CPU making that smell this time.

[Edit 20:45 -- The volume of smoke quickly increased to the point where all I could tell was, "I am within a cloud of smoke that has snow in it." When the smoke finally tapered off from that, I could see firefighters on the roof of the house two doors from the corner, which must have been vacant because they used a chain saw to cut their way in through a piece of plywood over a window. Most of the emergency vehicles on Lombard have left or are in the process of preparing to leave -- coiling hoses and such -- but two fire trucks remain on Fulton Ave, a ladder is still poking over the lip of the roof, and I can still see a small amount of smoke coming out, so I guess the fire is under control but not yet completely extinguished. Traffic is squeezing past on Lombard now. It's quite slippery out there -- the fire trucks look sure-footed, but they're heavy as sin and have chains on their rear tires. A city bus went by looking rather tentative, and passenger vehicles are spinning their wheels.]