measi's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- fires. I'm feeling a bit better. The stomach's still flipping every once in a while, but a cocktail of pain meds and various indigestion aids seem to be allowing me to quiet down. *sigh* Of course, being at home all day means the TV's been on. And since early this morning, half of the local channels have been focused on the Station nightclub in West Warwick, RI that caught fire last night upon ignition from illegal pyrotechnics at the opening of Great White's show there. As of my writing here, they have 86 confirmed fatalities, and the firefighters on the scene think they've located another pocket of rubble where other bodies might be hidden. Meanwhile, I got a call from LGM about the oil tanker fire on Staten Island that exploded this morning-- he lives only a short distance from it and could see the smoke easily from the living room window. He said the whole house shook upon the explosion. I don't doubt it. The images that have been broadcast on CNN today are awe-inspiring in their horror and magnitude. The last I heard, the fire was contained. But it is fire, and it's fire on top of extremely flammable material. I'll believe it's contained when it's out. My personal problems start getting back into line, and I realize that things could most definitely be worse. I've glossed on it before in my journal, but dying in flames is one of my greatest fears. I have fires in my dreams almost every night. I might not remember my dreams, but I remember the flames. Sometimes they're small ones-- candles, or a fire in the fireplace. More often, though, there's a building or something else burning. And although not super frequent, I've often had dreams where I jump into flames to my death. The horror of what happened in West Warwick-- less than an hour from here-- just hits me. The panic of getting trapped with no way to escape. Out of the slightly less than 300 people that were there, already 86 have been confirmed dead on-scene. Several people have been admitted with severe burns-- a few over 80% burned. Their chances of survival are risky. People were trampled or packed into the front exit so tightly that no one could move. They didn't know about the several other exits to the building. It's terrifiying. And just as saddening are those who have survived, but have been irrevocably maimed due to their burns. Over 150 people were sent to hospitals for treatments for injuries. That's over 230 of the accounted people. Much less than a third managed to get out of there. It doesn't make for a good case to feel safe in a club if something happens. That's for damned sure. *shudder* 3:39 p.m. - 21 February 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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