Always Have an Emergency Plan

I woke up early this morning to the sound of emergency vehicles, which is not all that unusual in the city.  But then after hearing a few of them come up the street and abruptly stop nearby, I started to wonder what was going on.  So I got up and looked out my peephole and couldn't see anything.  Then I opened my door, which was apparently a bad idea because the reason I couldn't see anything was because there was a wall of thick smoke in the hallway--and all that smoke came pouring into my apartment!  Panic, of course, set in, and I started frantically trying to get my shit together so I could get myself, and hopefully my cats, outside.

Luckily, everything seems to be okay now.  The firemen told me I could stay in my apartment as long as I stayed near a window since the smoke, as you can see, has not completely cleared from the hallway:

Fires have always been my worst fear, so it is kind of strange that I don't have a plan for getting myself and my kitties out in case of emergencies like this.  (Though Scribble and Doodle did NOT want to cooperate this morning.)  I think backpacks make the most sense, so I think I am going to have to buy a second backpack (since I'm sure Scribble does not want to share such close quarters with Doodle) and put each of the cat's leashes in them.

Needless to say, this is not the way I was hoping to start my week but I am glad that my apartment is okay!!