September 10, 2010
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"I heard a big whooshing sound and there was a boom. Stuff started hitting the house and then it got yellow outside, and then it got real warm."
The Daily News
1 Those words came from a retired San Bruno Fire Battalion chief named Bob Hensel. According to this morning's Merc News, Hensel had to evacuate his house, leaving his two cats. He moved fast, with enough time to look and see his wife's car bumpers melting.2 I had already written much of today's DN when I turned on the teeeveee only to see that an area right next to where I grew up literally exploded.
3 It was clearly bizarre seeing a map of the area with such familiar streets as Sneath Land and San Bruno Avenue.
4 The fire was different than other fires in that there were huge balls of fire and heat scattered in different areas. The stories abounded of people being unable to get out front doors, running up hills with flames licking at their necks. Some of the flames reportedly reached up to 60 feet in the air.
5 I looked and wondered about old people, pets, children, and all of the residents in a very familiar community. I prayed for their safety. I also thought of how absolutely devastating that a fire that was so terribly strange could happen nearly anywhere, at any time, in any community.
6 The cause was the explosion of a 30-inch gas main. I can't even imagine an explosion that devastating. There was no arson. There were no terrorists. There was no plane crash. It was a case of spontaneous combustion.
7 Nearly every scene I see is an area that I recognize. All the street names are SO familiar. San Bruno. I have a baseball shirt that says San Bruno on the front and the number 24 on the back. I bought it at Salvation Army in San Bruno years ago because I have always loved the town; went to high school there.
8 My former high school, Capuchino High School, is closed today, as are all the schools in the area. Capuchino is way down the hill and away from the fire.
9 My Dad gets some of his medicine from the Bayhill Shopping Center.
10 The outpouring in the community was immediate, as I would well imagine. They don't really need things, believe it or not. But donations can be made to the Red Cross, and can be earmarked to the San Bruno fire.
11 I'm watching the teeeveee and the always awesome Millbrae Lion's Club has set up breakfast. They were always famous for having pancake breakfasts. They also sponsored my Little League team when I was a kid.
12 Tough to watch. Ironically, I need to get up that way today to get to a funeral for a friend's father-in-law, so I'll be seeing a lot of guys I used to hang out with. It's going to be an emotional day, no matter what. I know it sounds a little strange, but a large part of me is crying inside for all the people in my community.
13 Anyway, say prayers, and donate to the American Red Cross if you would like to help out.
14 I'm going to move away from that right now because it is a bit overwhelming. I'm lucky that I can. So many thoughts and demons. So many nice memories too.
15 San Bruno was sort of like my personal Penny Lane. Always will be. Fortunately it wasn't thousands of houses, but still.
16 Penny Lane.
17 Moving on, Part the First: As much as I enjoyed the Giants' game last night, I was pretty surprised that they didn't interrupt the game to let people watching know about the explosion. That is an entire community of rabid Giants' fans, and it would have been nice for somebody to have let us know.
18 But I was going to get away from the fire and explosion for a while.
19 Speaking of the Giants, I know it's too early to predict, because this team is SO inconsistent, but they are starting to look like the real deal. Both San Diego, who dominated us all year, and Atlanta, always obnoxious, are "trending down", and if you were a "trending up" "trending down" sort, then the Giants definitely seem to be trending up.
20 It's funny because when I was up Tahoe a few months ago, my brother-in-law Chris came out to the pool with a gambling sheet that had baseball odds, things like the odds of the Giants to make the playoffs, to win their division, things like that. The one bet that sounded awesome was the odds of the Giants WINNING the world series. It was 20-to-1.
21 I almost NEVER gamble, but I must say I was tempted to throw a hundred-dollar bill down on that one. I told Chris that if I spend it now, I won't miss it if they don't get there, and IF the Giants somehow get hot and make a move, they could possible shut down other teams with their pitching, and if we acquired a few bats (which we did), we might actually be a dark horse to win it all.
22 For a guy who doesn't gamble, I sure seem to be able to talk the talk.
23 But as a non-gambler, I can't imagine throwing money around when more often than not, we lose when we gamble. I'm not a moralist or anything, but that's just how I personally feel about gambling. I personally just like to keep my money. I had some really bad experiences gambling when I first turned 21, which was just a few years ago, so naturally, it still hurts.
24 I lost a roll of quarters in about six seconds, and lost like forty dollars within about five minutes. This was back-in-the-day when I was a starving student. I sat on a stool with my mouth hanging down, just staring at how stupid that was. It just SEEMED so cool to go into a casino with all those lights and buzzers and whistles and make my fortune.
25 I got slapped down pretty quickly.
26 Still...I must say I came REALLY close to laying down a hundred dollars on the Giants' 20-1 chance of winning the World Series.
27 I'm already addicted to this awesome baseball season, and lived and died on every pitch this summer. If I throw money into the mix, I would probably scream at restaurants that are playing some other cheesy sport instead of the Giants' game.
28 Last year, when Jonathan Sanchez threw his no-hitter, I was out of town, and scrambled into a bar. It had ONE teeeveee, and some football game was on. I KNEW that night that he was going to do it, because he was SO on. I finally wound up in a hotel room watching it on a nice teeveee and was able to enjoy that amazing feat.
29 I don't know if Chris made the bet, but I'm starting to think about looking up the odds.
30 Wow. They're talking to the San Bruno Fire Chief, and it's a guy I know! He started talking and got all choked up.
31 Well, they're all talking about the town, and the people, and there are lots of tears, but lots of bravery.
32 Penny Lane is in my ears, and in my eyes.
33 Think I'd better go now.
34 Pray for the people of San Bruno.
35 Gottago.36 Peace.
~H~
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