I reported on a fire at an abandoned mobile home out in the desert earlier today. But there ended up being a little more to the story.
After I was done writing up that story and another one I had to finish for Monday, I began collecting my belongings and getting ready to go home — when I realized my wallet was M.I.A.
I franticly tore through my car and the stacks of paper on my desk, but it was nowhere to be found. The only remaining possibility seemed to be that I had left it at the scene of the fire. I headed back out. The firefighters and bystanders were gone and, sure enough, my wallet was there on the ground, money and all.
I mouthed a quick “Thank you” and prepared to leave, when I noticed the smoke wafting up from the burned-out motor home. The fire had started back up again and was probably up to the size of a backyard bonfire.
So, I called 911 and the fire district came back out and hosed it down. It probably would have burned itself out anyway, but you never know.
That’s what they call serendipity.
P.S. It was too late to get it in the story for the paper, but on my second encounter with the firefighter, Capt. Nick DiNapoli mentioned that someone appeared to have cut the motor out of the motor home and driven off with it, probably igniting the fire in the process.
