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7 fire trucks

1 ambulance
2 fire department suv's
1 fire chief
2 police cars
1 news camera
1 burning building

this was the scene today.

on my block.

I was home eating lunch and heard the sirens. By the time I looked outside there were already a few emergency vehicles pulling up. Flames were shooting out of the upstairs windows of a 4-apartment-unit house located at a diagonal across the street from mine. Smoke billowed out above the house and was carried over the surrounding area within minutes.

Thankfully, this house has been vacant for some time so I knew the chances were that no one was hurt.

The firemen busted through the front door before they even had water hooked up to their hoses. Those guys must be totally fearless. They worked really fast and had the fire out in about 30 minutes.

When it was all over with I asked one of them what happened and he had no answers for me.

The ambulance left empty-handed... praise God!

And, interestingly, a disaster services truck from the Red Cross pulled up with snacks and water and, I assume, expectations to provide assistance if needed.

It's not uncommon for vacant houses to become shelter for the homeless on cold wintry days like today. Perhaps someone snuck inside to escape the wind and tried to start a fire in a barrel to stay warm. Who knows?

I am just relieved to know how quickly the firemen responded and that nobody was hurt!

Never a dull moment in the city of St. Louis!