When I arrived for class, several club patrons were gathered around Pepper's office. I could hear concern in their voices. When I passed the weight room, several women came out. One said: "I could smell the fire a while ago, but the odd thing is that it doesn't seem to have grown at all."
Ah, there was a small fire in the health studio! Indeed, I thought I could smell the merest whiff of smoke.
I headed to the men's restroom, to the remote back of the room, far from the door, where I started to change clothes. There seemed to be a philosophical aspect to this presence of a small fire in the health studio that I hadn't considered before.
How large should a fire be in order to be considered a fire? Is it possible to have a small fire in the weight room, and have no effect at all in the aerobics room? For how long? Can one have a small fire in the weight room indefinitely?
In any event, the last thing I wanted was to have a fire interfere with my aerobics class. I slowly changed into my workout clothes, then stopped at the urinal (whatever might happen, I didn't want to deal with a fire with a full bladder). I hesitated for a moment, then put my jeans back on, over my workout clothes. Just to be prepared, you know, in case someone wanted to evacuate the studio.
When I emerged from the restroom, most of the people seemed to have already left the health studio. There was no sense of panic; just a firm sense of purpose. Unlike me, most people seemed to regard the presence of a fire in the health studio as a matter of practical, not philosophical, concern. People were already taking precautions: there was a haze hugging the floor in the weight room, apparently from recent use of a fire extinguisher.
Alas, as I might have expected, someone had called the Fire Department! I could hear the sirens as I emerged onto the sidewalk. The Fire Department seemed to regard a small fire in the health studio as a potential challenge, since they sent four - four! - engines, plus an ambulance, to deal with the situation. It felt like an overreaction - it was just a small fire, after all - but there were children here too, so I suppose one can't be too careful.
Scuttling like a cockroach on T Street, this car was unable to avoid being instantly surrounded by four fire engines. In a few minutes, first one, then another engine were sent back to their fire houses: it was just a small fire after all.
No comments:
Post a Comment