I was one of the evacuated ones in NC in the chemical fire

[Digit]

I had no idea anything had happened until Friday morning when I just happened to turn on CNN as I was getting ready for work. There was no reverse 911 phone call, and nobody knocked on my door Thursday night.

Since I have a parrot, and it is well known they have sensitive respiratory systems, I am deeply disturbed that I was not notified. I might have left for work without them, and my beloved parrot would probably be dead, and who knows if my cat would have survived.

I packed up my animals, along with some food for them and a portable cage for the bird.
I grabbed whatever I could think of that I might need and left for my office.
Luckily, I have my own office, so I kept my animals in there with my door shut.

Since I could not return home after work, I ended up getting a hotel room that accepted animals.

Hopefully, I will be reimbursed for the hotel expense.

My big question is....why weren't residents notified???

I wrote this first part earlier in the day, and now I am getting flamed on the Apex, NC site stating that I need to listen to the news all of the time so I can be aware of what is happening.

[Thickasabrick]

1. Glad you are ok. Didn't the public alarm systems go off or

anything? We spend all this money on public alarm systems, drive us crazy testing every first Wednesday of the month and then they wouldn't use them for something like this?

[dsc]

2. I teach with someone from Apex and she says the company

is going to pay the incidental expenses including hotel bills. If you don't have the info by Monday pm me and I will ask her if she knows the number. I am glad you got your animals out. I am amazed they didn't either call you or knock on your door. This teacher made it sound like the Apex police had done a good job of notifying the people who needed evacuated.

[TomInTib]

5. God, I love this place. Talk about minimal degrees of separation...

I wonder how many of us know one another without realizing we all show up here?

[Demoiselle]

3. Thank goodness you're all all right!

As to the flame...If Clear Channel or one of the other megabroadcaster companies owns most of the radio stations around you...you're not going to get any local bulletins, most likely. I've heard stories of rural communities unwarned of tornadoes and fires because their "local" station was computer operated without one single human being on the premises.
Ignore the flame. And again...I'm glad you're all ok!

[AspenRose]

4. We are on our own.

Those people flaming you for not watching the news all the time probably think it's a courtesy, not a responsibility, for folks to be notified.

I was evacuated for an emergency several years ago (during Clinton's tenure) and thank goodness people were going door to door trying to get people evacuated.

I don't expect things like that to happen now. We are truly on our own.

PS-glad to hear you're ok.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

15. I was surprised this summer when the police came to our door one night

during a week when the temperature never got below 90 degrees, even at night. They were checking on everyone to make sure they had power and some way to stay cool. Our power was on but the front of the house was dark so the cops wanted to see if we were okay. Of course this is Chicago, where a) it's very blue and b) mayors lose elections for ignoring weather emergencies. ;)

[Olney Blue]

6. I'm glad you and your animals are OK, digit.

[Selatius]

7. Was the town abandoned when you woke up?

Have you ever been in a town that was abandoned or almost abandoned? The silence can be oppressing. I remember reading of the oppressing silence when people started touring the dead zone in the Ukraine near the Chernobyl meltdown.

[valerief]

8. Because the people in a position to warn you just don't care.

Glad you're okay.

[AspenRose]

12. Or they're understaffed, underpaid and undertrained

Thanks to all that money going to that 'Bridge to Nowhere' in Alaska, among other things.

[OzarkDem]

9. Glad to hear you're ok!

You have every right to be concerned about not getting notified. The experts know they need to do all they can to alert residents and it seems they failed in your area.

[itsrobert]

10. I would consider moving

You don't know what fall-out is on the ground and in the water now after that chemical fire. Look what happen at the WTC, people were poisoned. The government is going to lie, lie, lie.

For your own safety, MOVE!

[Digit]

13. I am drinking bottled water for the forseeable future

Funny thing, I had an urge to buy a bunch of bottled water a couple of weeks ago. I will use that for awhile.

[Digit]

11. The people across the street are retired, so there was no clue there

I peeked out the window, and noticed a car leaving their driveway, could have been going to work or anything. I dunno. Looking out my windows did not tell me that my neighborhood was evacuated either.

I did not know how hurriedly I should evacuate. I packed up all sorts of stuff for the animals mostly. Of course I forgot my toothbrush and a change of clothes!

My animals were well taken care of...I managed to grab everything they would possibly need.
Since they rely on me for their needs exclusively, I feel good about that.

I can roll with the punches better than they can, but I am finding it gets more difficult with age!

I can say it will feel good to sleep in my own bed tonight!

[Catherine Vincent]

14. Glad that everything worked out for you.

That is weird that you weren't notified when they kept telling everyone on CNN etc. that residents were told to leave.

[Digit]

17. That is one reason why I posted...because many of us WEREN'T told

I have asthma, so I don't mess around with stuff like this. If I had been notified, I would have left, PRONTO!

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

16. Glad to hear you and your companions are okay! n/t

[Straight Shooter]

18. Looks like your intuition is working just fine.

You just happened to buy bottled water and you just happened to turn on CNN while getting ready for work. :thumbsup:

So glad you're okay, as well as the parrot and the cat.

[Digit]

20. Yes, there are no coincidences

It blows my mind.

[DURHAM D]

19. Glad things worked out for you Digit.

I am just up the road in Durham and I started getting calls from all over the country to see if I was ok. I had no idea what the first caller was talking about. Had to turn on my tv to figure out what was up.

It was really big national news and today I got an email from Italy asking if everything was ok.

Did you know that a facility of that type existed in Apex?

[Digit]

22. Nope, I understand the mayor did not know of it's existence either

Hopefully, they will be more aware of the impact a facility can have upon a community when things go wrong.
Needless to say, I had a rather full answering machine when I got home.
Nice to know people cared.

[I Have A Dream]

21. Wow, Digit -- I'm so glad that you and your animal friends are safe.

:hug::hug:

[Digit]

23. Thank you, thank you.

I believe there is a site to check on sites within your own area for hazmat sites, but I am too sleepy right now to do so.

It may be a good thing for everyone to see what is in their surrounding area just in case.

I will try to do some checking tomorrow to see what I can find.

In the meantime, I appreciate your sentiments.

Twas a tad lonely and scary at first, but I am fine...just alittle weary.

[Nikki Stone 1]

24. Glad to hear you're ok; Horrified to hear that you weren't notified.

Recommended.

[Digit]

26. I saw on the Apex forum that someone in a more affluent area was evacuated

I hate to imagine they are doing this, but I duly noted that the neighborhood was the farthest from the fire.

I hate to even think it is possible.

Maybe tomorrow I will think differently.

[Nikki Stone 1]

29. Oh good God! We're at survival of the richest.

Are you ok?

[Digit]

31. Guess so, mine is the lowest priced in the area

My parrot is okay, and she is my bellweather.

My knees hurt like hell, as I have osteoarthritis in my right knee really bad and the other has to compensate.

Other than that, my mood is good, I feel fortunate to be as ablebodied as I am, and my beloved pets are in good shape.

[Nikki Stone 1]

32. I'm glad the pets are ok. That's always a big worry.

Are you going to be able to go home at some point? I have knee pain myself so I sympathize. Just makes it all the harder to get around.

[Digit]

33. I spent Friday night in the hotel, and came home Sat morning

I would have spent the night in a hotel Thursday night, but did not find out about the evacuation until Friday morning, so it could have been worse.

[Nikki Stone 1]

34. Were things at home ok?

Do they have a way for you to check the air quality and safety around your home?

[Maat]

25. Glad to hear that you are doing fine, Digit! (n/t)

[Cleita]

27. Digit. I'm so sorry you were one of the victims there and am

so glad you and your pets are all right. It looks like your guardian angels are looking out for you. You should document this in a diary or somewhere, so if there is an inquiry, you can get your story included. These companies need to be brought to task for what they do.

[Digit]

30. I have called EQ, the company, and they will be contacting me

They will be contacting me regarding reimbursement for the hotel.

I appreciate your concern, and it is sweet of you to care.

Thankfully, it is over, but this is something others need to be aware that could possibly happen to them.

I wonder what others will be doing who have pets who go outside on a regular basis. My cat is an indoors cat, so I don't have that worry.

I did okay...it was an inconvenience for sure, but what about those with dogs who regularly go outdoors?

[pecwae]

36. Even 20 miles north

of you in Durham I was afraid to let my dogs out on Friday. We heard about it on local channel 3 about 7:30 am Friday. If anyone in the area affected wasn't watching local news when the explosion was reported and didn't get a warning they wouldn't have known until the national news picked it up later in the morning.

My intuition has never failed me! I'm glad yours was working and that you and your babies are okay.

[pitohui]

28. i'm glad you're ok

all that about how they go door to door to get people out for a mandatory evacuation, that's just bullshit, i'm sure -- same as it is down here

i've heard of it being done in california for fires, but probably it's bullshit there too, don't you think?

they don't even pretend to claim they go door to door down here for hurricane evacuations until, really, it is too late -- you see how long it takes -- in the new orleans area they were weeks checking houses after katrina, no way they could have gone door to door and told anyone anything in the 48 hours before the storm

my husband was trapped here for rita, no one came and told him there was a mandatory evacuation and anyway even if they had, there was no gas left so he couldn't leave anyway

i will be forever skeptical now about claims that anyone goes door to door in mandatory evacs telling people, i just don't think there is time, really

[democrank]

35. Glad you`re okay, Digit.

Bet it seems good to be back home.

[Skidmore]

37. This is a national security issue. DHS was created and FEMA

was put in DHS to address such an issue. Are we safer yet?

[elehhhhna]

38. Don't worry, FEMA shold be showing up in 8 to 10 months to fix everything.

[GreenPartyVoter]

39. Glad you are all ok!