Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 14 years and 11 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

It’s never a good sign to come back to your hotel and find the lobby swarming with firemen.

That’s what I found tonight when I got back to my hotel here in Manhattan: three ladder trucks and the chief’s vehicle parked outside on the street and at least 15 to 20 of FDNY‘s finest in full uniform carrying hoses and other implements of their trade. I must have missed most of the excitement because the concierge told me it was fine to go up to my room. I didn’t want to ask what had happened since I figured he had probably been asked that hundreds of times already. It was almost like I had walked into an episode of “Rescue Me.”