INCENSED--pun intended

Oh my sweet Jesus.

There was a fire downstairs early this morning, in the squatter's area near our building. The smoke was already in our room so we had to evacuate. It was super adrenaline rush. We somehow managed to pack our things and bring them down to the podium level.

What's really alarming was that the alarm system in the building didn't go off. Not even with all that smoke--and there are smoke detectors practically everywhere. I was so right when I guessed that the ancient devices were more of a cause for alarm rather than a safety device. And what's even more alarming is that the emergency break-glass alarm station wasn't even functioning. I nearly broke a finger jabbing at the damn thing but it would neither give in nor break. In short, there was no way to alert others in the building if there's an emergency.

Fuck. We could have suffocated helplessly in our sleep if Christine wasn't still awake when that happened and alerted the three of us--Nikka, Shy and me--that there was a fire and we should all get out.