I Survived a Fire on the Subway! (Serious)

by HogWild

I had a life-or-death situation tonight. 

And at first I thought my surviving was a sign that God exists. But maybe having to survive a fire in the first place is a sign that God hates me. 

There was a 3rd rail explosion/fire on the F train at like 2:30 in the morning. We had just pulled into the Jay Street station in Brooklyn when someone yells "Get out! Fire!" I'm thinking, "Yeah right. This a-hole just wants me to get up so he can take my seat." But people start rushing out. So I begrudgingly make my way off the train. 

Then, holy sh!t! There IS a fire! 

It was under the train on the track. Thick black smoke is billowing up. There are about 200-300? people on the platform now. We can't use the one exit to leave the station because the fire is in that direction. It's blocking our only way out. The other choice is to walk towards the next stop in Brooklyn.

I wanted to do that. So did many others. But the MTA construction worker with his walkie-talkie and GED tells us not to do that. I do remember something about how if you step on the 3rd rail you can get electrocuted and die so I listen to him. At this point the smoke is getting heavier but we can still breathe OK. It's kind of like when you're sitting too close to a campfire when you're burning newspaper. An F train approaches the station in the other direction -- to Manhattan. We're saved! Thank God!

Right? 

Wrong. The f#ck!ng train slows down ... then keeps going! WTF!!! 

All they had to do was let us on and bring us to safety at the next station. But no! 

Now I can see faces get worried. The men try to look confident as their girlfriends clutch their arms for security. I clutch the arm of one of the girlfriends. 

Now sh!t is getting serious. The black smoke is getting thick. People are coughing like crazy. Now I am thinking... "Am I going to be an idiot and listen to THIS idiot tell me NOT to start walking the track to the next station?" 

FINALLY, he gives us the "okay" to jump down into the track. The thing is, we needed him and his crew to help us with flashlights. Even with them, I could barely see 6 inches in front of my face because of the smoke. I covered my face with my shirt. Somebody pushes me from behind to move faster. I can't walk faster! There is someone right in front of me! But the smoke is so thick! 

Will I die because I'm being polite? Do I trample these people? I yell, "Go faster!!!" They speed up a little bit. I trip. There are huge holes everywhere and I can't see where I'm going. Plus, they keep yelling at us, "Walk in the middle!" Presumably because they are unsure if the 3rd rail is still on.

By the time I got to the next station to the fire escape ladder, my eyes were burning and my throat felt like it was on fire. As I write this (2 hours later) my eyes still hurt and my throat still burns. I get out to the fresh air on the street. Never before did NYC air smell so good! 

There is a single police cruiser on the scene. I was one of the first 50 people out. People came out 20 minutes after me. Some of those people were laying on the back of an ambulance with oxygen tanks when I left. When I left there were ambulances, fire trucks, EMT, Mister Softee, you name it. I've never been so scared for my life. I've never felt like "this might be it. I might die." Until 40 minutes later -- when I began walking back home through the 'hoods of Brooklyn. 

Really, I was thinking... is this how it's going to end? I die in some stupid subway accident? How lame! Is this all that God has planned for me? Am I a simple pawn in His overall plan to improve fire safety in NYC subways? No. Apparently, God has greater plans for me -- a real purpose. 

Perhaps tomorrow I will be trapped in an freefalling elevator. Or I will be hit by a car driven by an elderly man. Or a refrigerator will fall from the sky and drop on my head.

So right now, I don't know what God's message is to me. I know I should take away some moral here. But what the hell is moral of THIS story? Help me find it! So far, the only thing I can think of is "Be happy with your body." 

Because for years I have lamented, no cursed, my hideous nostril vines. My nose hairs, so wild and untamable. Impossible to keep well-groomed. Well, tonight, my nostril vines saved my life. When I got home I literally had chunks of charcoal trapped in my nose hairs from all of the smoke and soot. If that stuff had made it into my lungs, I would have been one of those unfortunate laid out on a stretcher. 

I feel for those who were asthmatic or with health problems. It would be miraculous if they survived.

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