smoke detectors, toddlers and sleep

I was jolted (literally) from bed last night as seven firetrucks went screaming by my house sometime past midnight last night. Lights lit up the street like it was morning.

When I peeked out the window, all I could see was billows of white smoke clouding the sky less than a block away, and fireman scaling the roof of an old warehouse less than a football field away.

I can't find any record of the blaze in any news this morning, so I'm assuming everyone involved in the fire is ok. While the idea of someone losing their home and possessions is devastating, something alarms me more:

Pat and the Bug slept through it. The whole ordeal. The screaming ambulances... the lights...

baltimore walks: take the pledge

The Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance wants you to help make Charm City safer - by increasing Baltimore's walkability factor.

DBFA has launched a new campaign to make Baltimore safer for walking.  The organization believes that living in a walkable neighborhood decreases crime, enhances public safety, and increases home values, public health, and adoption rates of public transportation. However, according to a DBFA email newsletter, pedestrian injury is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 to 14 years old. Excessive vehicle speed is the leading cause of crashes in Baltimore City.

To start educating Charm City residents, DBFA created Baltimore Walks, a new website dedicated to providing information about walking in Baltimore neighborhoods. They're also gearing up for October 5th: National Walk to School Day, launched a city-wide pledge campaign encouraging drivers to break for pedestrians and are co-sponsoring a student pedestrian safety video contest with Baltimore City Public Schools.