30 Comments
User's avatar
Gaëlle Gosselin's avatar

Sjoe ! what a story !! Glad it all ended well...

Great idea that portable fire detector, I'm taking notes :))

Thomas Frank's avatar

I so love the effortless ways you weave a crisp narrative with helpful advice and introspective insight. You are quickly becoming an essential part of our own preparations to launch. Thank you!

Michael Jensen's avatar

How exciting. How long to launch?

Brent Hartinger's avatar

Why thank you! That means a lot to me. :-)

John B's avatar

Thomas: How can we find out when you launch? Can't seem to sign up yet.

Thomas Frank's avatar

We are taking off at the end of June…first stop Lisbon.

Robert's avatar

Man, that is scary. I think I’m going to buy a small portable smoke detector. Thanks for this.

Brent Hartinger's avatar

Thanks. Yes, I think it's a must. Weirdly, there is no portable smoke detector/carbon monoxide detector combo.

Brent Hartinger's avatar

(I'm thinking of creating such a product! lol)

Michael Jensen's avatar

If you're going to spend much time outside of Western Europe, you definitely should.

Robert's avatar

Where did you guys find a portable smoke detector, do you remember? I can’t find it on Amazon weirdly. Thanks.

Brent Hartinger's avatar

I thought it was Amazon but maybe it was home Depot... 🤔🤷

Robert's avatar

Ok, thanks. I’ll check them out and do another Amazon search. 😊

Abbie K.'s avatar

Yikes, a cautionary tale, much appreciated.

Brent Hartinger's avatar

Thank you! Appreciate the nice words

Karchner William's avatar

What a read !!! Thanks for the info on portable smoke detectors. My biggest fear is fire. Stay safe guys!❤️

Brent Hartinger's avatar

Thanks! You too...

Georganna Hawley's avatar

Portable smoke detector. Gotta get us one. Which did you buy and do you recommend. Of course, noting that you have presumably not had an opportunity to test it....

Brent Hartinger's avatar

Ha ha yes it hasn't been tested. Also difficult to pack due to lithium battery. Ours is unmarked, no brand. How weird 🤔

Georganna Hawley's avatar

Hmmmm. Not instilling a lot of confidence, here.

Brent Hartinger's avatar

haha well, i know it works because it's gone off plenty of times in my bag. lol

Skipper Rico's avatar

Great story telling!

Brent Hartinger's avatar

Thank you very much!

Neal Bascomb's avatar

Absolutely terrifying and written accordingly! Makes for a great story though

Brent Hartinger's avatar

Thank you, appreciate the compliment!

Michael Jensen's avatar

It does that! 😎😳

doot_dee's avatar

That's kind of the thing about living in a shithole. Wow, the rent is so cheap, I can eat so much for a dollar.... but the house burns down, there is no fire extinguishers, no fire alarm because shithole.

Brent Hartinger's avatar

We loved Bulgaria though. It's a question of poverty, obviously. And the good news is that this fire DID cause the landlord to change things. LOL

Michael Jensen's avatar

Hmmm, not a shithole. Definitely had a big flaw but lots of pros too.