Alarm!

[janestarz]

A loud wail from the hallway announced that there was a fire somewhere in the building. Ties didn't move at the opposite desk, and when I glanced behind me I saw Michael was also still in his chair. I put my cell phone in my messenger bag, opting to leave the TMap book (i.e. the Testing Bible) behind.

"Shouldn't we evacuate?" I wondered. Ties shrugged. "We had a fire alarm last week as well."
Not twenty seconds after the alarm started, it was turned off again. I put my bag down and picked up the coffee tray. "Coffee then?" I asked.

There were several Suits (like Clackers, but of the male persuasion) in the hallway, busily talking on the phone now that the danger was over. As the machine made the coffee I looked through the inside windows down the stairwell and actually saw several Suits climbing the stairs, like they'd indeed gone outside.
I pondered this. Some people actually evacuated. How very smart. Because really, how stupid is it to first wait to see if the alarm is real after all? It's not a very big building, but I know how you're supposed to leave it when the alarm sounds. Leave everything behind, close the windows if they're open and close the door once everyone left the room. Proceed towards the nearest exit in a calm manner. We all know how it's supposed to go. You're not supposed to wait until the department representative is checking all the rooms to see if everyone's out.

I remember we had a fire alarm in Bromley Hall when I was in Ohio. Everyone went outside, waited for the firemen to scout the building, and only when they gave the "All Clear!" were we allowed back inside.

So why do we stay at our desks? Is work really that important, that we can't stop it for a moment to save ourselves? Even if it's a false alarm, do you really want to take the risk?

Comments

[woran.livejournal.com]

I think its because deep down most people think: 'nah, this has to be false, a fire would never happen to me'.

[sna.livejournal.com]

I have observed the same. I am the type to always have all my stuff near, though, so I can evac at a moment's notice. Had two alarms this year, both false, but I've been outside in under 4 minutes (even with the seven story building) both times. I aint risking it.

[janestarz.livejournal.com]

The only things I really need from my purse are my cell phone and wallet, and those can be found real quickly.

[sna.livejournal.com]

In any real fire I'd prolly only lose my laptop's adapter.

[sjiva.livejournal.com]

How often do they have a fire drill? Or false alarm?
I know you should go out when the alarm goes, but if they drill to often, or you have too many fals alarms, at some point you just do not hear anymore, and don't respond. Because "it's just another false alarm/fire drill".

In Scotland they had fire drills of false alarms every month or so. At one point I just did not hear the alarm anymore and almost walked into a just evacuated building, wondering why all the people were standing outside. hearing the alarm was just so normal, it did not mean anything anymore...

[janestarz.livejournal.com]

I was in the office for three full months and I never heard the fire alarm. I missed it last week, but it's not something that happens very often. Even if it is 'just' from the smoking oven at the cafeteria upstairs, you should always take a fire alarm seriously.

At Bromley Hall they had fire alarms several times a week. Each and every time it was evacuated. You don't fuck around with a fire alarm!

[cabaray.livejournal.com]

i would use any excuse to run out of an office building.

[woran.livejournal.com]

We always loved it when the alarm went off during class. :)

[virginiadear.livejournal.com]

You attended **O.U.?????**
Can't say why that idea astounds me but it does.

[janestarz.livejournal.com]

Perhaps because it's 8000 kilometers from my home?
But yes, I did (http://janestarz.livejournal.com/tag/ohio). A business course of three weeks, paid for by my boss. It was quite an experience, and very mandatory.

[virginiadear.livejournal.com]

Ah; so, not entirely your choice. That's a bit different.

Thank you very much for the link to that portion of your blog. You mention a few wombats having been camped out in a small park near your class building. If they looked like this:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=groundhogs&sa=N&safe=active&tab=wi&um=1

or http://tinyurl.com/kq2tsg

(without silly clothes or silly hats or silly bandoliers)
...then they're groundhogs, also called woodchucks. They're cousins to squirrels. We have no native wombats in Ohio, I'm afraid. The woodchucks are very shy although they've adapted to urban, suburban and small town life, prefer to be left alone, and all too willing to use their teeth if confronted or cornered.

I'm sorry it wasn't a completely enjoyable three weeks, but at least you only visited Cincinnati and didn't have to be anywhere near my city which, if Cincinnati displeased you, would have driven you mad.
I have to confess I'm dumbfounded to read that before the ball game (Reds vs. Pirates) began, everyone in the stadium stood and bared his head for "God Bless America." Traditionally, before the first pitch of the ball game is thrown, the crowd stands, with the *men* baring their heads, for the national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner."
Thanks again for the explanation, and the link. :-)

[twilightbanana.livejournal.com]

At a previous workplace, they had fire drills about once a month/two months. And they used different scenarios, to keep the BHV'ers (employees trained in First Aid and to take charge in an emergency) on their toes. Everyone knew what to do, and did it without fail.

At my current employer, we've had one drill so far, in the more than two years I've worked there. Which was preceded by a 'subtle' reminder e-mail of how we were supposed to evacuate. And the BHV'ers were chatting about the upcoming drill in the hallways before the drill happened. And still, everyone took their sweet time.

[alhandra-s.livejournal.com]

When I was still working at a supermarket distribution center the fire alarm was no reason to evacuate.
If the alarm went, usually it was followed by a spoken message not to evacuate until your manager told you to. I am a little skeptical about thatnow, if he made one mistake, about 50 people or more would be death in worst case.
The only alarm we all reacted to immediately was the ammonia-gas-alarm. I was in the refrigerated part of the warehouse and if there was a leak in the cooling fluid we had to leave! fast!

one time I was working (with the fire alarm still going) a bunch of firemen came in. I knew the commander and he came to me asking why everybody was still working? we were told that the alarm was broken and they couldn't turn it off. Manager forgot to call the fire department about that because they get an automated alarm from the system... That were some pretty pissed off firemen :-)

fire pfff... but ammonia... :-)

[muizenstaartje.livejournal.com]

I rember a scheduled fire drill at the UU and all students wanted to leave the lecture hall, because we knew of the drill, but the professor told us to remain seated. Only after protests from the students could he be persuaded to take the drill seriously, but then he told us to remain seated while he checked if it really was a drill. A while later he came back and told us to evacuate.

How stupid is that?

I think nobody in the Netherlands thinks much of the fire alarm or the air alarm even. I don't remember at which town this happened, but during a fire certain harmful chemicals were released and the wind was heading towards an area with houses and soccer fields so the mayor let the air alarm go off. This meant that people should go inside and close windows and doors, but people simply continued with their children's soccer game. That led to one pissed off mayor.