Fire and car explosion

One of my biggest fears in life is fire. Ever since I was child my uttermost nightmare is to get caught by a fire and not being able to get out. The closet I ever been to a fire was a building across the street when I has just moved away to college. Nobody was hurt, but for weeks I had trouble going to sleep. Listening to every sound.

On Thursday a bit of that nightmare came back. While having lunch with some colleagues I got a phone call from mum who was picking up some things in my flat. When she arrived the entrance door was open and the whole building smelled like smoke. Getting off at my floor she was met by a man who was cleaning off soot from the walls, ceilings and floors. Mum asked him what had happened and he really didn't know other that he had been sent there to clean up. There was no damage to my flat and no smell of smoke. Most likely thanks to the heavy fireproofed door. Mum knows my fear of fire and she called me so I wouldn't get worried when I got home, but needless to say it didn't work. I left work earlier just to see what actually had happened.

The smell was still strong when I got home and even though the whole building had been scrubbed from top to bottom with strong detergent. At my floor the fire had started about 3 meters from my door and right there both paint and skirting board were gone. The rest of the walls and ceiling that are usually white had turned grey and one could tell they had been washed.

My imagination was of course running wild and when I heard my neighbour who I see at the bus every morning arriving home I went next doors. The two of us had left the building around 7:30 am and both of us had noticed a medium sized box on the landing but not really thought about. People put out stuff from time to time since the hallways in the flats are tiny and people doesn't always feel like walking all they way down to the basement right at that moment.

When our other neighbour was suppose to leave 30 minutes later the box was on fire along with bags of old newspapers and plastic things, which created the smoke and soot. The fire department arrived with 14 fire fighters, one ordinary truck and one ladder truck. Both the police and paramedics were also called to the scene. If I had been home I would have been a completely wreck.

The fire fighters went through the building from top to bottom, but could not find anything else or traces of things being used. To them it was either a pyromaniac or some kids playing around. Sure, but the entrance door is locked all the time which makes it a bit scary. If it was a pyromaniac he/she will not come back since they never start a fire at the same place twice. Like that would be a comfort... I slept surprisingly well on Thursday night even though I woke several times and had a hard time falling a sleep to start with.

On Friday night when leaving the house to go my monthly wine testing I noticed leftovers of something burnt on the pavement right outside the entrance. Probably something left behind by the fire fighters cleaning up I thought. I was also late and it was getting dark so I didn't think about it any more.

Then yesterday I ran into another neighbour who actually started the conversion with asking if I lived in the building, which means that people are on the watch out for strangers. He then went on and asked if I had seen the explosion and fire on Friday. No the fire was on Thursday I replied. No he said. On Friday morning around 10:30 am a car had exploded right outside the entrance door. Again the whole street had been filled with emergency vehicles. The police think that some sort of explosives had been used. Not much, but enough to crack the petrol tank and get a fire going.

So that was what I had seen in Friday night. The remains of a burnt out car. Back in the flat I checked the newspaper on-line and yes there was a notice about a car exploding. Even a picture of the car burning right outside my entrance door.

This has always been a quiet part of town. I've lived here for 11 years and nothing has ever happened. There is plenty of gang wars related to organised crime going on in the city. Gothenburg has the most organised crime in Sweden, which we are not very proud of, but all that stuff goes on in the suburbs. Not here, right in the middle of the city.

Yesterday and today have been quiet, so I really hope this was something temporary and a coincidence that things happened two days in a row. That's what the police thought at least. Not sure if that makes me feel less worried, even though I really would like to. I will for sure be more careful with who I let into the building and notice people on the street more.