one45auto
Member
I live in a townhouse condominium with one neighbor above me. This neighbor recently rented out her unit and the tenant called the local cable company to install high speed internet access to her son's bedroom. However the installer, while manuvering through the crawlspace above the ceiling, lost his footing and fell through - rupturing the feeder pipe for the sprinkler system and flooding the unit. Believe it or not all of this happened only moments after I'd left.
Needless to say within minutes the house was awash and the panicked tenants called the local fire department to shut off the water since only they have access to the building main. Dutifully they showed up, shut off the water supply for the sprinkler system and deactivated the fire alarm, which no doubt had gone off in every unit in the building as a result of the loss of pressure in the pipes.
So far so good, right? Wrong. Here's where it gets upsetting.
The firefighters examined the unit and then briefly assisted the tenants in bailing out some of the water before taking it upon themselves to examine my home for water damage. Getting no response, and unable to effect an entrance via the front door (good first layer security comes in handy!), they used the truck ladder to force an entry through a second floor window - bending out my screen, twisting the venetian blinds, knocking over a lamp, and shoving an arm chair aside. They then proceeded to tromp through my house with wet boots and added insult to injury by opening the circuit panel and shutting off power to most of the house, including the kitchen. In the process my answering machine lost power, causing me to lose several important messages along with the corresponding telephone numbers.
Of course all this was unknown to me, in fact I had no idea that anything untoward had occurred until the following morning when I returned home and found a hastily scrawled note (filled with misspelled words) afixed to my front door informing me (and presumably any criminal who happened to stroll by) that they'd entered via the second floor window. So for over twelve hours it had been painfully evident to anyone passing by my front door that not only was I absent, but that my upstairs window was currently an easy means of entry should they care to avail themselves of the opportunity. :banghead:
The geniuses had also shown their incredible mental accumen by placing plastic sheeting over the already existing water damage, presumably to ensure that it didn't dry quickly, because the sheeting was dry on top and no additional water had accumulated. Nice going, fellas.
The food in my refridgerator was thoroughly thawed and the containers of ice cream I'd bought were now fit to be consumed using straws. My circuit panel was left open, my living room was a mess, my bedroom doors were open, and my house cat was cowering underneath the sofa. (Fortunately she'd been too scared to flee, otherwise the morons might have allowed her to get out of the house and she has no collar)
Needless to say I was absolutely livid and ready to put my foot up someone's rear end. In actuality I was more upset over the intrusion than I was the water damage. I felt completely violated, as though my privacy had been invaded - especially since I'd been writing bills the previous afternoon and had left my checkbook, bills, bank statements, and other personal documents out on the dining room table. (Who would think of having to hide such things in your own home?) God only knows how many of the civil personnel had tromped through my house or even how long they'd lingered in pursuit of their so-called "examination."
I immediately checked to ensure that all my firearms were present and accounted for and then spent an hour or so checking to see if anything were missing or out of place, as well as assessing the damage. As soon as 9:00am rolled around I dialed the headquarters for the fire department and worked my way up the chain of command until I spoke to someone in authority. I demanded to know not only who had authorized the entry into my home but by what legal statute they'd presumed to do so. I wanted to know precisely under what conditions they could legally force entry into a private residence and was told that they could enter if they felt there was a "problem."
A problem!? What kind of problem, exactly? Who defines what a "problem" is, or is that a blanket "probable cause" definition designed as a one-size-fits-all entry permit for whenever they darned well please? No one's life was in danger, nor was the building on fire. Since when did firemen suddenly become experts in plumbing? Just what were they going to do but stare at the dripping water anyway? Curiously he didn't have an answer so readily available then.
Now I'm sure to be set ablaze by flamers, especially those amongst the civil service fraternity, but I verbally tore that representative a new rectal sphincter. Although I'm unlikely to get it, I'd ideally love to have someone's job over this because it would certainly go a long way towards easing the sense of violation I'm still feeling. Apart from the fact that nothing was stolen (at least insofar as I can tell, because the jury is still out as I monitor my credit card transactions carefully) the feeling is exactly like that of having been burglarized. I was well prepared against ordinary theives but never dreamed that my home would be invaded by firefighters supposedly acting under the law.
I'm due to receive a full report from the aforementioned Chief on Monday, at which point I'm considering contacting my attorney to see if I can pursue the matter legally because a mere apology isn't going to return the sense of privacy they took from me. It's not going to ease the sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach knowing that total strangers were roaming at will through my property without my knowledge or consent and doing God only knows what.
My opinion of the profession is extremely low at the moment...
So be forewarned, criminals aren't the only ones you might find breaking into your homes.
Needless to say within minutes the house was awash and the panicked tenants called the local fire department to shut off the water since only they have access to the building main. Dutifully they showed up, shut off the water supply for the sprinkler system and deactivated the fire alarm, which no doubt had gone off in every unit in the building as a result of the loss of pressure in the pipes.
So far so good, right? Wrong. Here's where it gets upsetting.
The firefighters examined the unit and then briefly assisted the tenants in bailing out some of the water before taking it upon themselves to examine my home for water damage. Getting no response, and unable to effect an entrance via the front door (good first layer security comes in handy!), they used the truck ladder to force an entry through a second floor window - bending out my screen, twisting the venetian blinds, knocking over a lamp, and shoving an arm chair aside. They then proceeded to tromp through my house with wet boots and added insult to injury by opening the circuit panel and shutting off power to most of the house, including the kitchen. In the process my answering machine lost power, causing me to lose several important messages along with the corresponding telephone numbers.
Of course all this was unknown to me, in fact I had no idea that anything untoward had occurred until the following morning when I returned home and found a hastily scrawled note (filled with misspelled words) afixed to my front door informing me (and presumably any criminal who happened to stroll by) that they'd entered via the second floor window. So for over twelve hours it had been painfully evident to anyone passing by my front door that not only was I absent, but that my upstairs window was currently an easy means of entry should they care to avail themselves of the opportunity. :banghead:
The geniuses had also shown their incredible mental accumen by placing plastic sheeting over the already existing water damage, presumably to ensure that it didn't dry quickly, because the sheeting was dry on top and no additional water had accumulated. Nice going, fellas.
The food in my refridgerator was thoroughly thawed and the containers of ice cream I'd bought were now fit to be consumed using straws. My circuit panel was left open, my living room was a mess, my bedroom doors were open, and my house cat was cowering underneath the sofa. (Fortunately she'd been too scared to flee, otherwise the morons might have allowed her to get out of the house and she has no collar)
Needless to say I was absolutely livid and ready to put my foot up someone's rear end. In actuality I was more upset over the intrusion than I was the water damage. I felt completely violated, as though my privacy had been invaded - especially since I'd been writing bills the previous afternoon and had left my checkbook, bills, bank statements, and other personal documents out on the dining room table. (Who would think of having to hide such things in your own home?) God only knows how many of the civil personnel had tromped through my house or even how long they'd lingered in pursuit of their so-called "examination."
I immediately checked to ensure that all my firearms were present and accounted for and then spent an hour or so checking to see if anything were missing or out of place, as well as assessing the damage. As soon as 9:00am rolled around I dialed the headquarters for the fire department and worked my way up the chain of command until I spoke to someone in authority. I demanded to know not only who had authorized the entry into my home but by what legal statute they'd presumed to do so. I wanted to know precisely under what conditions they could legally force entry into a private residence and was told that they could enter if they felt there was a "problem."
A problem!? What kind of problem, exactly? Who defines what a "problem" is, or is that a blanket "probable cause" definition designed as a one-size-fits-all entry permit for whenever they darned well please? No one's life was in danger, nor was the building on fire. Since when did firemen suddenly become experts in plumbing? Just what were they going to do but stare at the dripping water anyway? Curiously he didn't have an answer so readily available then.
Now I'm sure to be set ablaze by flamers, especially those amongst the civil service fraternity, but I verbally tore that representative a new rectal sphincter. Although I'm unlikely to get it, I'd ideally love to have someone's job over this because it would certainly go a long way towards easing the sense of violation I'm still feeling. Apart from the fact that nothing was stolen (at least insofar as I can tell, because the jury is still out as I monitor my credit card transactions carefully) the feeling is exactly like that of having been burglarized. I was well prepared against ordinary theives but never dreamed that my home would be invaded by firefighters supposedly acting under the law.
I'm due to receive a full report from the aforementioned Chief on Monday, at which point I'm considering contacting my attorney to see if I can pursue the matter legally because a mere apology isn't going to return the sense of privacy they took from me. It's not going to ease the sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach knowing that total strangers were roaming at will through my property without my knowledge or consent and doing God only knows what.
My opinion of the profession is extremely low at the moment...
So be forewarned, criminals aren't the only ones you might find breaking into your homes.
