At my office, the fire alarm is so loud, high pitched and obnoxious that you HAVE to leave immediately. Staying would result in your brain melting and dripping out your ears. I'm not kidding - when those alarms go off it's immediate exodus by everybody. I'm surprised folks don't throw their desks at the windows to break them, and then jump from the third floor to escape the noise. It's terrible! Set a few of our alarms off in a retail establishment and you'd have sheer panic as people stampeded for the exits.