Fire Alarm Fun!

[Fera Festiva]

Yesterday we had a fire alarm. These are always a pain in the arse - people complain and take ages to leave and make a fuss about it and blah blah blah, and then it always turns out to have been caused by the catering students burning the pastry or something (occasionally it's due to blowtorch misuse in the technology department). However, yesterday two SCs particularly stood out.

So, the fire alarm sounds, we all groan, and then start yelling for people to get their stuff and leave via the back exits, etc etc. Once (it seems) all the students are out, we grab our coats and head out after them. One of my coworkers (K) is standing at the back of the library arguing with some guy, who we will call SC1.

SC1: I don't see why I have to leave. It's only a stupid fire drill.
K: It's not scheduled. We have to treat this as a real fire. Please leave the building.
SC1: I will if you'll explain to my tutor why my assignment isn't finished. [To which I would have liked to have replied - because you didn't do it until the last minute?]
K: Excuse me? This is a fire alarm. You're putting our lives at risk by not leaving. [We're not allowed to leave until all the students are out.]
SC1: Well, this is very inconvenient.

SC1 then spends about a minute putting on his coat and zipping it up v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y while shooting evil looks at K. Eventually he left, so we could all leave too.

So, we make our way down the fire exit stairs and towards the door, but there's a gridlock of people and we can't get out. We manage to get most of the students to squeeze through and leave. When we get closer to the door, we see the reason for the gridlock - only one of the two doors is open. The reason? They open outwards, and some guy - let's call him SC2, shall we? - is standing in front of one of them, nonchalantly smoking a cigarette. I'm normally pretty relaxed about health and safety - I'm not the kind of person who worries about whether a paperclip on the floor is a hazard or whatever - but come on, dude, you're blocking the fire exit during the fire alarm!

Me: Excuse me, you'll need to leave the building, everyone has to assemble in the car park.
SC2: *Gives me a patronising sort of look, shakes his head, and turns away*
Me: Excuse me, you'll need to leave the building, this is a fire alarm. You need to go to the car park.
SC2: *Another patronising look* Not me.
Me: I'm sorry, this is a health and safety issue, you are blocking the fire exit, people need to leave the building.
SC2: I'm a teacher here and I'm not teaching today. I can stand wherever I want.
Me: You are blocking a fire exit. The building could be on fire. You need to leave this doorway so that people can exit the building and not burn to death.

SC2 then takes one tiny little step out of the doorway so that he is technically standing on the pavement, gets an incredibly smug and self-satisfied look on his face, and says:

This is public land. You can't stop me standing here.

If you'll excuse my language for a moment - what a sad little wanker.

[MadMike]

Too bad you can't just say "Fuck 'em! let 'em burn!" when they don't want to leave.

We had an incident a few years back when I was working in a different building. There was a doctor's office on the first floor, and one of the patients had a young child with them. I guess the kid got bored, as kids often do in that situation, and saw this nice, shiny, bright red fire alarm switch. So he pulls it, of course. Had to be during one of the coldest days of the winter, too.

The building emptied out, and the firetrucks came. To make it even more fun, when the firetrucks were leaving, one of them sideswiped a parked car. I felt sooo much safer after I heard about that.

[draftermatt]

This is public land. You can't stop me standing here.

"Then I will have to move you. (Shove his dumb ass until he is out of the way). Then try to get his name and report him.

[Tito]

"Then I will have to move you. (Shove his dumb ass until he is out of the way). Then try to get his name and report him.

That's what I would have done, especially since he is putting your & everyone elses life at risk by blocking the exit. Let him try to complain about you doing that.

I have a feeling that he, not you, would be the one to end up getting in trouble.

[Becks]

To make it even more fun, when the firetrucks were leaving, one of them sideswiped a parked car. I felt sooo much safer after I heard about that.

Well, at least they didn't go driving off with people acting as speedbumps...

[friendofjimmyk]

I am so angry by reading this post. It's unbelievable how freakin' stOOpid some folks can be. Disregard for others safety! AND THE ONE THAT SAID HE WORKED THERE - THAT'S NO SC - THAT'S A F***ED UP CO-WORKER!

[Lace Neil Singer]

Get his name, and report his sad pathetic self for endangering the lives of people during a fire drill. With any luck he'll get an assreaming for that.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Well, as for the pathetic little limpy showing how big he is by blocking a fire escape route, I guess since he was on public land, you could have kicked his ass for him and not gotten in trouble for fighting at work.

[Rapscallion]

SC2: I'm a teacher here and I'm not teaching today. I can stand wherever I want.

First, what the Hades is he doing in when not actually working?

Second, I suspect he'll be the first to complain when the children in his class won't do what they are told.

Rapscallion

[Department stores *sigh*]

o god....story from my place

we hear a code *** which i have NEVER heard sinc ei worked there. Apparently there was a fire. We tell everyone to evacuate as the upstairs is filling with smoke and i have to go through every aisle and search for people. I got asthma and it was no fun.

Essentially what happened was some kids lit some wicker baskets. It got put out fast but the smoke filled the store so we had to get people out and let the fire department vent out the place. 2SC come to mind.

SC1(ex cop lady)
She tells our staff that she saw the kids run downstairs so she wants us to lock the doors so they cant escape.
We tell her 'ma'am get OUT we are not locking the doors'
She says we dont know how to handle these situations and she does.
We tell her we are not locking the doors when our building is on fire and 50+ people are inside the store. kthxbai

SC2(home e SC)
SC:Cant i reing through our purchases fast?
Home E worker: Ma'am our store is on FIRE. Get out.

Im sorry people we are only trying to help you live. Thats all. Believe me if i could help you pass on through your own stupid actions i would be more then willing. But i cant. Just listen to us when our store is on fire >.<

[Dips]

On blocking fire exits...

I used to work at a hospital doing genetic research. In one of the buildings the fire/emergency exit faced an alley lined with NO PARKING signs. This was the exit used to empty the building when the fire alarm went off.

The signs didn't stop people from parking in the alley, of course. It wasn't really a big deal except that, very rarely, someone would park in front of the emergency door, which opened outwards. Meaning you couldn't open the door very far before it was touching the car.

Now I don't know if the star of our story had been regularly blocking that door and just ran out of luck or if he was a first-time offender. All I know is that he was the lucky person whose car was blocking the door one time when the alarm went off. Every one of the dozens of people exiting the building SLAMMED that door into his car before wriggling through it to safety. Some of them made sure to do it twice. I was watching.

The firemen were less than amused with the car owner and he eventually got towed for his trouble, but they were also less than amused that the hospital didn't have a physical barrier stopping people from blocking a fire exit. After that two nice big cement poles were placed on either side of the door a few feet out.

[Tanasi]

So, we make our way down the fire exit stairs and towards the door, but there's a gridlock of people and we can't get out. We manage to get most of the students to squeeze through and leave. When we get closer to the door, we see the reason for the gridlock - only one of the two doors is open. The reason? They open outwards, and some guy - let's call him SC2, shall we? - is standing in front of one of them, nonchalantly smoking a cigarette. I'm normally pretty relaxed about health and safety - I'm not the kind of person who worries about whether a paperclip on the floor is a hazard or whatever - but come on, dude, you're blocking the fire exit during the fire alarm!

Me: Excuse me, you'll need to leave the building, everyone has to assemble in the car park.
SC2: *Gives me a patronising sort of look, shakes his head, and turns away*
Me: Excuse me, you'll need to leave the building, this is a fire alarm. You need to go to the car park.
SC2: *Another patronising look* Not me.
Me: I'm sorry, this is a health and safety issue, you are blocking the fire exit, people need to leave the building.
SC2: I'm a teacher here and I'm not teaching today. I can stand wherever I want.
Me: You are blocking a fire exit. The building could be on fire. You need to leave this doorway so that people can exit the building and not burn to death.

SC2 then takes one tiny little step out of the doorway so that he is technically standing on the pavement, gets an incredibly smug and self-satisfied look on his face, and says:

This is public land. You can't stop me standing here.

If you'll excuse my language for a moment - what a sad little wanker.

When you have someone acting like this: They are blocking a fire exit - That's a felony, up there with negligent homicide. An effect way to deal with someone that refuses to move, is to grab them (between your thumb and forefinger) by the upper lip and twist. Trust me they'll follow you anywhere doing a modified version of the peepee dance.

[repsac]

I'm going to relate a story to you, one I hope you keep in mind and also pass on. This story is in no way funny, amusing, or nice to read. IF you'd rather think all my posts are happy funny and somewhat informative at some point, please, pass this over. Otherwise, read on.


The L'Innovation Department Store Fire took place on May 22, 1967 in Brussels, Belgium, and killed 322 people, many of them women and children. The tragedy was a source of Cold War controversy since it came during a period that included anti-American protests from communist supporters.

The blaze began in the five-story structure, built in 1897, at approximately 1:30 p.m. with more than 1,000 people in the store. Cries of, "Fire!" incited panic, with virtually the entire store engulfed in just 10 minutes due to the lack of sprinkler systems. Many shoppers rushed to windows, since the main stairway was enveloped in thick black smoke, while some jumped to their deaths before fire ladders arrived. Still others went to the roof and escaped via nearby buildings. Some employees, having become used to the exploding fireworks that protestors had set off, ignored pleas to leave the building until it was too late.

[CrazedClerk]

So tempting to leave the SCs in the store and put "Disco Inferno" (Burn baby burn) over the speaker system.

[lordlundar]

Trust me they'll follow you anywhere doing a modified version of the peepee dance.

haha! I love it!

In all honesty, I would have asked once, ordered then the second time (no where NEAR as nice) to move or be forcibly moved, then act on it on the second refusal.

When seconds count, no sense being polite.