Holiday stress can drive even the most grounded individual a bit batty. This is well documented in the following incidents, which illustrate what happens to those who get caught up in the craziness of the crowds and the tick, tick, tick of the countdown-to-Christmas clock.
Santa’s got nothing on a bunch of shoppers from Ohio. An electrical fire that broke out on Wednesday didn’t stop holiday shoppers from continuing to fill their carts. According to news reports, thick smoke filled a Dillards department store, but it didn’t deter deal hunters who wanted to pay for their merchandise before evacuating. Firefighters say they had to force people out of the building.
“It was amazing,” the fire chief told local news reporters. “Even though there was heavy smoke in there, they all wanted to stay and shop. We even had to put people at the door to keep people from coming in.”
According to authorities, the fire burned circuits of a high-voltage electrical panel near a women’s dressing, and caused about $50,000 in smoke damage to merchandise. Officials say no one was injured in the fire, but some bargain hunters were fuming about having to leave.
Honestly, there are no words. How do you react to such craziness? I can hear it now: “I know there’s a fire ripping through the building, but I really need to see if these leather gloves fit… hey, are these fireproof?”
Moving on, this guy’s got nothing on Santa. A Denver homeowner who was locked out of his suburban house stole a trick from St. Nick and tried to get back inside by sliding down the chimney. Unfortunately, he got stuck.
According to police, the man fell about 12 feet down the shaft and suffered minor injuries from his fall. Interestingly, a local newspaper noted that at first police thought the guy was trying to break into the home, but later say he convinced officers it was his home. (Can you say humiliating?)
Firefighters told local reporters that they rescued the man by lowering a ladder into the chimney and after a few minutes were able to lift him to safety.
Ho, Ho, Ho!
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