Excitement in the Village

About a week-and-a-half ago, I was jolted awake at 2:30 a.m. by an air-raid siren. Since Gina had seen and photographed a rare funnel cloud over Busingen a few days previously, my first thought was "tornado." That's usually what we Americans associate with the sound of an air-raid siren, and hearing one of those in the dead of night is no joke. Here the siren summons the volunteer fire brigade, of which numerous personnel from EuNC and the Regional Office are members.

The next morning in church, we learned that a gymnasium at the elementary school had burned down. The gym was a central part of community life in the area, as well as the place where EuNC students played soccer every Friday. It was believed to be the work of an arsonist.

Last night - again, at almost exactly 2:30 a.m. - the air-raid siren went off. This time, we knew it meant "fire" and we opened our window to see if we could see anything - whether flames, flashing lights, or even the arsonist skulking across the campus just waiting to be caught.

Again, at 4:10 a.m., the siren in Busingen went off a second time. Any attempt at sleep was forgotten.

We learned this morning that two fires were indeed set deliberately in Busingen last night. Three or four fires were set in Schaffhausen. In that nearby town, one building was evacuated and about 12 people were taken to the hospital with injuries or smoke inhalation.

Tonight, a police helicopter patrolled the skies over the area and apparently there are a number of police cars roaming the streets.

So, perhaps I can be forgiven for two incidents in which I nearly over-reacted.

After the first alarm went off last night, I saw a dark figure cross the campus right in front of our window. I hurried out of the apartment and down the stairs to see if I could identify the individual. I was still half-asleep and not seeing well, and I very nearly rushed out of the building to tackle this person when I realized it was Uwe Burmeister, the campus caretaker, making sure all the doors were locked. He was pretty amused when I informed him of his potential fate.

Tonight, there was a strange noise that sounded like a helicopter or maybe a very large truck. We stepped outside to take a look. There was a strange light, the size and shape of a cell phone screen, coming from one of the bushes. I shined my flashlight in that direction, and the light didn't move. Weird. You'd think a flashlight would have flushed the guy out of the bushes. Gina went back in the apartment, and I called a friend to come over to take a closer look with me and be ready to rush whoever jumped out of the bushes. It was a small lamp in Klaus and Martina Arnold's back yard.

So, life has gotten unusually exciting around here (and it's most unwelcome!). But there's good humor in it, and we're all looking out for one another. I expect the arsonist took things too far last night and will be caught soon.