I step outside to see more cars and trucks than would ever normally be heading down our quiet street. A man from the cable company and a neighbour try and get a downed wire out of the way of the heavy vehicular traffic.

An ambulance is parked in front of the house next door, further complicating traffic. The woman in the house next door, well into her seventies, has been ill. Her husband recently injured his back. This could be dire.

Police and fire services have parked themselves at the end of the street. I can see traffic cones.

Clearly, this all connects somehow. I see another neighbour across the street. We exchange shrugs.

It takes a while to clarify matters.

The cones have been placed on the intersecting street due to construction.

Someone on that street called the fire department over a matter that was easily addressed.

The combination of construction and a fire engine meant traffic had to be rerouted down our street. Enter the police.

A construction truck, at about that time, brought down a disused phone wire-- the house to which it runs has no land line.

The cable guy, in our neighbourhood on a completely unrelated call, decided to be helpful and disconnect the disused wire.

The ambulance showed up when the person in the house with the fire-related issue called 911. They parked where they could, learned they were not needed, and left soon after.

Injuries have not occurred. No one experienced interruption of cable, phone, or internet services.

A wire hangs cut, but not by Occam's Razor.

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