Fire and Flood

There was a staff meeting this week and although predictably it started late and was due to go on and on and on, luckily it was all cut short when the geyser in the ladies loo exploded, water everywhere and once it got in the electrics, sparks and flames too!

I never seen people round here move so fast and I have to admit that I didn’t catch on too quick! I’d been diligently taking notes on the NMC procedure for budgeting meeting allowances (something I do not agree with but have to let happen otherwise nobody will come!). I was ignoring the rapid chatting in Chichewa that I could hear assuming their mobile conversations were highly important (!) but when I looked up the room had all but emptied – everyone had shot off downstairs to save their computers and electrical items from being fried. So I did too – when I arrived in our corridor there was a river pouring from underneath the bathroom door heading straight towards the photocopier. We picked every up off the floor but for several boxes of paper it was too late…already soggy and wrinkly. Brooms were handed round so we swooshed the water out the door as calls were made to plumbers and electricians.

Just as I headed back to my office to put my shoes back on, someone streaked past shouting, ‘Fire!’ I didn’t see any flames myself but judging by the exclamations and excited chitchat there must have been some… I’m not sure what I expected to happen next, the fire alarm to go off? Us all to calmly but quickly file out the building and assemble in the car park?

Its all fixed now, nothing of importance was damaged or lost thank goodness and only the carpet remains a bit squelchy.