The alarm siren from a restaurant across the street has been going off every since I got back yesterday. Thankfully, it’s on the living room side of the apartment, and with the bedroom door shut it was barely audible so I was able to sleep fine last night.
I think the alarm in question belongs to the FX Buckley steakhouse directly across from my apartment. I decide to take action (and no, nothing involving a baseball bat). First, I try calling their number but I get an answering machine, since obviously the restaurant is closed due to the lockdown. Then I try calling the 24/7 Security.ie alarm company that is written on the front of the alarm box. I get through, they’re very polite and understanding, but they say they no longer “look after” the alarm monitoring for the restaurant. Then I try calling the gardai / police station in my neighborhood. They say others have called in about the alarm but don’t say anything about what they’re going to do about it. Then after some google searching, I find information about how to report “noise pollution” including from unattended alarm systems and a number for a general Dublin city services line. I call the number and am put on hold. Instead of providing an estimated wait time, the automated system tells me that I’m number 24 in queue, and that my call “will be answered in rotation.” Actually, I think I prefer this count-down approach… it’s very satisfying to hear when I’m advanced up closer to the top of the list. It takes about half an hour until it’s my turn. The representative is helpful and friendly. He takes my name and number to input into his system and gives me a reference number. They will try to find a contact for the business.
I also mention the alarm when texting my landlord about my rent payment for January, and he suggests contacting the building manager, Brian, who had previously helped me with my electricity meter reading. I text Brian (and when I say text, I almost exclusively mean WhatsApp, which is the default messaging app over here) who says he’s tried calling the business but hasn’t gotten a hold of anyone yet. He also clarifies that the alarm belongs to the adjacent Crow Street Restaurant, and not the FX Buckley steakhouse, and sends me a video of a different alarm box with a flashing red light underneath an overhang that isn’t visible from my apartment windows.
After exchanging texts with the property manager Brian, I receive a call from an unknown Irish number. I answer, and the voice on the other end explains that he’s Brian with FX Buckley (not to be confused with Brian the building manager) calling about the alarm — apparently the city tracked him down! He says he would send someone out to check on the alarm, but then I explain that I just learned that the alarm in question actually belongs to the Crow Street Restaurant next door, and would he happen to have a contact for them? He says yes, he thinks he does, but he’ll have to look for it. Not wanting FX Buckley to get blamed for the incident, I tell him I’ll call Dublin city services back to correct the report, which he appreciates. We hang up. Back on hold with the city, I’m told by the automated system that I’m now number 27 in queue, and again it takes about a half an hour to get through. This time a female voice answers, I believe she said her name was Molly? The connection is poorer, which I suspect may be due to calls being routed to remote workers’ cell phones? At any rate, she asks for the reference number and updates the report with the new information. About 20 minutes later, around 12:30pm, Brian from FX Buckley calls back to say he got a hold of someone with the Crow Street Restaurant and that they’ll be coming out to turn off the alarm; if it hasn’t stopped by 5:00pm, then Brian says I should call him back. Thanks so much! Cheers.
At a few minutes before 2:00pm, as I’m making lunch, the alarm finally stops!!! Brian the building manager texts me in jubilation. On one hand, I feel bad about originally assigning blame to the FX Buckley steakhouse, but in the end it might have produced the best result. Plus, perhaps I earned some “brownie points” with the building manager for having helped fix the problem. When searching for solutions to this problem, I came across an article in the Irish Examiner about an unattended alarm siren in Dublin this past July that went on for four days (!), so it’s a real problem!
My only other significant accomplishment today was scheduling another COVID-19 test in follow up to my trip to Strasbourg. Technically, the Irish government’s guidelines say to get tested five days after traveling, but I decided to book an appointment on Thursday (one day sooner) in hopes that I might have the result back by Friday. I book with the same private testing service, RocDoc, that has a drive-thru facility at the Dublin airport since that seemed to work out fairly easily. However, this time I opt for a less speedy (and expensive) option, a RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test that takes 1-2 business days for the result — basically this tests for the coronavirus’s DNA. My previous test used the LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) method, which also tests for the coronavirus’s DNA but is quicker. I can’t find a quick answer online as to whether one testing method is more effective than the other, although perhaps maybe it’s the LAMP method?! At any rate, I booked a GoCar for the trip on Thursday afternoon and already feel relieved to being tested again for peace of mind. Until I get the test result back, I’m planning on following the self-quarantine guidelines and not even meeting up anyone for walks. I have a grocery delivery scheduled for Wednesday morning so that should tide me over for awhile. At least staying in will help me focus on getting some more job applications out.
Ireland’s new case numbers have jumped to 6,110 today, up from yesterday’s tally of 4,961. The severity of the situation is sinking in quickly. There is talk that Ireland could see 200-400 ICU patients in the coming weeks, exceeding the capacity of the entire country (again, things are on a much smaller scale here). The biggest topic on the news and talk shows on RTÉ Radio today were whether or not schools would be closed; the government is supposed to announce a decision about this on Wednesday.
Until next time….
