16-04-2025
False alarm, real heat: Firefighters surprise crowd of romance novel fans
Is it hot in here, or is it just the firemen?
A romance book event featuring bestselling author Abby Jimenez got an unexpected — and on-brand — twist when a fire alarm went off, prompting the real-life arrival of firefighters that had the crowd of 400 mostly female attendees in Canada absolutely roaring.
Jimenez was appearing alongside fellow romance author Hannah Bonam-Young to promote her newest novel, "Just for the Summer," when the alarm interrupted the evening.
As emergency crews responded, the firefighters entered the venue and the room erupted in cheers.
"Did a fire alarm go off in the middle of my Toronto event with @authorhannahby?" Jimenez posted on Instagram. "Yes. Did a crew of hot firemen show up? Also yes."
Bonam-Young took full advantage of the moment, jokingly asking the firefighters, "Are any of you single?" She later shared footage on TikTok, which quickly went viral.
"They were not actually paid actors," Jimenez clarified in the same Instagram post. "But we would have paid them, because it was beyond amazing."
According to reports, the fire was a false alarm and no real emergency, just a perfect plot twist. But that didn't stop fans from drawing the obvious parallels to the romantic comedy tropes they came to celebrate.
The moment lit up social media with attendees posting clips of the cheering, laughing crowd. Some even joked it felt like a scene lifted right out of one of Jimenez's novels.
"I can't believe this happened at an Abby Jimenez event," one attendee wrote on TikTok. "You couldn't script it better."
No injuries were reported, and after the all-clear was given, the event continued a little more exciting, and a lot more memorable, than expected.
