I burned down my boss’s office

**Featured in BBC News.**

It was my first coding job, Summer 1984, and I was 17 years old. Just learned to drive.

My mentor Mr. Frates ran a local empire of businesses from an office stuffed floor to ceiling with exotic memorabilia — aboriginal art, signed first edition books, rare taxidermy specimens, Tom Lehrer albums, a functioning parking meter, a telescope.

He spoke excitedly, wheeling his massive leather executive chair atop a plastic sheet spiked into the blue carpet, as his longtime secretary punched politicians, artists, and old friends in over the phone.

Like James Bond and Moneypenny, or Indiana Jones.

How it happened

One day Mr. Frates called me in to wire up his new PC. So we cleared a path through a mountain of papers, one cable behind and under the desk to the wall outlet, others to the local network. A green screen CRT, a dot matrix printer. Lots of wires.

If you can’t see where this is going, you really need some fire safety advice.

The aftermath

Mr. Frates broke the news over spring break. The building had survived but the inside was a total loss, 100+ workers displaced, a swashbuckler’s lifetime clutter burned, melted, waterlogged.

“The fire marshal said it started with the power cord you ran under the carpet” he said. Then after a brief pause he smiled to say “But I don’t believe it.”

Lessons learned

• When they tell you don’t run power cables under your office chair, they mean it!!!!
• A mentor-for-life lets you make your own mistakes however catastrophic and not blame you for them.

Of course he knew it was my fault. Rest in peace Mr. Frates.

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