So there's good news and bad news
The good news is: no one was hurt, and I lost virtually none of my personal property.

The bad news is: there was a fire in my apartment building last week. The fire started in a wooden annex on the back of the brick building and -- at least on my upper floor -- the actual fire damage was entirely contained in that area. The only things I lost were a few items stored back there, none of it valuable or important. This considerably tempers the basic reaction of shock and horror, since it is so much better than what I was envisioning immediately after being informed. By the Fire Department investigator, incidentally, who called me at work under the mistaken impression that my landlord had already reached me with the basic news.

My first thought once I saw the place was that they would just tear off and replace the annex, do some fairly massive cleaning, and replace some windows and the locks on the doors the firemen broke down. However, it appears the other parts of the building sustained more serious damage, such that I'm now being told it will be four to six months before the building is again habitable. Under the circumstances, I don't expect that I will want to move back into the building from wherever I end up.

Since my brother has a house in the area, I'm staying with him while pursuing a hurried sort of apartment search. (And I got time off work, so that's good.) But my normal social activities, such as they are, will have to be curtailed for the moment: no gaming, and don't take it personally if I can't make it to, say, your Oscar party.