Fire is Unacceptable. So are Certain Corporations

 Disclaimer: I can be selfish. What I experienced was an inconvenience. Real tragedies are elsewhere.

This past week, I took a day "off" work to recertify in ACLS [the medical support of fatal cardiac rhythms], except it didn't go as planned. For some unknown reason, a power line fell across the dead-end road connecting our apartment parking garage to a major road, and chaos--but no fatalities--ensued.

Technically, there is an alley, and then the dead-end road, connecting the one to the other, which is why when I pulled up to the intersection of the alley+dead-end, I didn't immediately see the large fire in the road, because it was hiding around the corner. I assumed the drivers of the two cars in front of me had zoned out at the stop sign, but fortunately, when I honked at them to get a move-on, someone rolled down their window and explained, "There's a downed power line with a car on fire. We called 911. Just waiting for the firetruck to come." Wanna know my response? 

"Oh."

See, I really hadn't foreseen that scenario.

I pulled up the number to the Simulation Center [where the ACLS training is] and called to let them know I would probably be late. It went straight to voicemail, which wasn't as helpful, but I left a message with the details: "fire" "can't get through" "will be about 15 minutes late."

Then I pulled my car over to the side to wait for aforementioned firetruck, and the change in position gave me a pretty good view of what was going on.

Active flames engulfing the front of a jeep, the downed line lying across the road melting and burning the asphalt, and explosions as the transformer box died [or whatever it is that transformer boxes do. The point is, there were explosions, so I doubt it was functional afterward].

The promised firefighters showed up, hosed down the whole mess, then--to my dismay--starting cordoning off the road. I got out of my car and, with my shirt pulled up to my face [it was really smoky, and also burned asphalt smells terrible], approached the firefighter with the tape to ask when I'd be able to drive out. The gist of his answer was, "that's a really powerful live wire. We need the electrical company to come and re-wire the mess. They'll come quickly, because this is a priority incident, but it will take them a while to fix it."

My new plan to get to ACLS became Uber, but before I could do that, I had to do something about my car, and unfortunately, the power had been cut [ok, it was a fortunate thing for anyone near the live wire, but it complicated things] and I couldn't get through the electric-operated gate back into the apartment complex's garage.

I called Mark, who was free that morning, to babysit my car, and went on foot through the apartment building to the front to call an Uber, where I encountered more problems. Firstly, my card had expired on the Uber app, and it took multiple tries to update it. Secondly, the firetruck was blocking the main road. Thirdly, it started to rain [too little and too late to be any help with the fire, btw].

I hadn't heard back from the Sim Center, so I tried calling a different number for them, which turned out to be not-in-service. Right, so they have one number only, and nobody answers it. Great system.

My Uber ride finally reached me, we went on our way, and I arrived at the Sim Center at exactly 8:22am [I have an Uber receipt to prove it.], twenty-two minutes after the 6-hour training started. When I asked the lobby security guard where the ACLS training class was, he said they never let people in late. I showed him pictures I had taken of the fiery reason for my tardiness, and he was pretty skeptical it would do anything much, but agreed to email someone. I did what I could and left another message for the Void that is Customer Service for the Simulation Center.

While waiting, a Sim Center worker entered the building, and the security guard summarized my plight. She must not have been a morning person, because her face--from the blank of her eyes to the frown on her lips--showed zero sympathy. She told me they don't allow anyone in who is late, because if they started to do that, other people would hear about it and get mad they hadn't been allowed in. This was, I thought, a really unreasonable reason: I was there in the lobby alone, the people already in the class who would see me had obviously already been allowed in and thus would have no complaint, so who were the metaphorical angry people?

 Someone from the Sim Center came down to talk to me at 8:30am, and told me that they had a 10-15 minute grace period because parking could be difficult, but that I was 30 minutes late, which was not accepted because they had already started going through the scenarios. [I did not, in this moment, point out that her appearance to talk to me did not indicate the time that I actually arrived. Still trying to be collegial]. To prove her point, she said that even in situations where the employee cannot go back to work without the ACLS renewal, the Sim Center does not allow tardiness. Those unfortunates just have to reschedule and, in the meantime, not work until they successfully pass the course. 

??? 

Are you trying to prove to me how small-minded you are?

I pointed out the fire was unforeseeable. I argued that this was my 6th time taking the course over the span of my career, and so I would take my chances with missing 15-30 minutes of material. I refrained from yelling at her [I feel like this was an accomplishment, so I'm including it in my list of productive actions].

No go. 

Same flat eyes and unsympathetic face.

So I left. I called Mark to see how things were going, to see if he'd be able to pick me up, but the road was still closed, with the electrical company workers up in a cherry picker sorting out wires, so I took the Metro home. 

There was already someone covering for me at work for the day, so I spent my newfound freedom
in the street chatting with neighbors and power company employees over the strangeness of the day.

And the road didn't open until 3pm.

So my complaints to the MedStar Sitel Simulation Center are:

1. I called beforehand to explain the situation, and not only did no one answer, but also no one had had the decency to call me back or to tell me that no matter what, latecomers aren't allowed. I could have saved a rush-hour Uber trip.

2. It is, perhaps, asking too much to assume that others would be able to think outside the policy to see if exceptions could be made, BUT, any sign of caring would have gone a long way in improving the situation.

3. Why do they have a grace period for PARKING and not for FIRE??

I'm tempted to send my Uber receipt to work for reimbursement.