Three fires hit close to home this week. They all hit me in different ways. And they drove me to the word “escape.”
The first was a nine alarm fire that occurred in my old Back Bay neighborhood earlier this week. It took the life of two young firefighters, and injured several more. This saddened me deeply. This fire affected the revered fire department at Engine 33, Ladder 15 on Boylston Street; the same team who responded to last years Boston Marathon bombing, But what really struck me was that these guys were young fathers. They sacrificed their lives to save others. They are the ones who truly run in when we run out. They allow us to escape while ultimately putting their own ability not to escape in peril.
The second fire took place in the wee hours of this morning in a triple decker house in Somerville. One of my co-workers, a lovely young manager beloved by my company, was awaked to learn her apartment was on fire. Three alarms later, total devastation. Mercifully, everyone was unharmed. Unfortunately, all physical property was a total loss.
This hit me hard when I was informed of the news by her director just before seven am. So one of our mutual friends and I went into brainstorming mode about how to help. And what I love about this company was put on full display today. We posted a website powered by “gofundme.com” asking for aid for a fellow Moose. We set of goal of $4,500, reaching big, believing if we have 450 people, we can reach that with our peoples known generosity. Did we ever. We crushed that goal in 15 minutes flat. And at last look, we were up to $18,000+ and counting. I have never been prouder of working at a company than I was today. Not because we just raised money for someone. I am proud because we are at the end of a quarter. Everyone is crazy busy. And yet, in a time of need, everyone immediately stopped what they were doing to help a teammate. Many don’t know her well. Some sent the link out to their own social networks to drive more traffic. Everyone had her back. At this company, we call that “One Moose.” That weird phrase comes from that notion that the singular of the word moose is moose. The plural of the word moose is also moose. Together, we are all “one moose.” Today, without question, this Rapid7 team was truly “One Moose.”
And then just as I was preparing to send the email to the company to help our friend, I got a call that our Cambridge office was on fire. It was followed by a fairly entertaining email that only a very to-the-point engineer could send, subject line reading, “Cambridge Office Is On Fire.” Thankfully, everyone was okay, and there was no real damage and our space is unscathed.
Escape, however, is on the brain. Not just the physical escape from a fire, which frankly I feel like I need to go home and think about this weekend. As in, if my house went up in flames, would I have ready access to run out the door with a tiny bag of necessities immediately. It’s also left me feeling about wanting to escape in general.
I think I might be wired more like a firefighter than escapee from a prison. I run into the trouble, rather than away from it. The escape might provide temporary relief from the situation causing the trouble, but I would not be able to live with myself knowing I ran. Those who know me well know this. I am not conflict averse. While I hate to be in conflict, I will not avoid it. If there is strife, I will seek to address and fix it. In my world, problems are just interesting puzzles meant to be solved; they are not left to fester to smolder and finally ignite into a burst of flames.
I am one of those incredibly grateful to our real firefighters who serve us. They are incredible, true heroes who make me proud to believe in the good of humanity. And while I can never imagine the bravery they hold to do what they do, I think I understand a little bit about how they are wired.
I am so happy that all of my colleagues escaped to safety over the last two days. But you won’t be seeing me escape to much of anything anytime in the near future. You can find me here, running straight into own emotional flames, on a daily basis. At least for another 94 days.
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