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#183614 - 09/29/09 11:01 PM Re: The Fire Alarm Sounds. Do you... [Re: MartinFocazio]
Desperado Offline
Veteran

Registered: 11/01/08
Posts: 1530
Loc: DFW, Texas
Originally Posted By: martinfocazio
OK, something here reminded me of an incident with my family a couple of years ago on Long Island.

We were in the Ikea store in Hicksville, New York (yes, it's a real place) and the fire alarm sounded. I grabbed my son's hand, my wife grabbed my daughter's hand (#3 was on the way) and we looked for the nearest fire exit.

We went to the door, and I paused for a second to feel it, and noticed that NOBODY EVEN STOPPED SHOPPING. I mean like not even a pause!

Well, we opened the door, waited a moment, and then they announced that it was a false alarm - but I mean, gee, don't you even think that maybe a move TOWARD the fire exit is in order until you know?



Tell me Martin,

What structure worries you more:
Your office
Ikea
a public indoor arena.

I was involved in a Mass Casualty Exercise as a volunteer trying to evacuate a large old arena in the area.

The ushers and security made it out fine. They were closest to the exits.

(I "died")
_________________________
I do the things that I must, and really regret, are unfortunately necessary.

RIP OBG

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#183657 - 09/30/09 01:03 AM Re: The Fire Alarm Sounds. Do you... [Re: Desperado]
2005RedTJ Offline
Addict

Registered: 01/07/09
Posts: 475
Loc: Birmingham, Alabama
I get the heck out, period. Even if the alarm went off every day for a week before that and they were all false alarms.

Is it a real fire or a false alarm? I don't know unless I see smoke or flames. But I'm not betting my life on a hunch. As someone pointed out in the other thread, you have a LOT less time to react than most people think. A lot of people believe they'll have 5 minutes or more to decide what to do. In most major fires, 1 minute would have been pushing it.

I know a lot about fire codes because it's my job. Every four years the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) comes out with a new code book. And every new version has tons of changes. Know how they come up with these changes? They review every death due to fire, and investigate how the lives could have been saved. They then re-write the codes to include the changes. The codes are said to be "written in blood" for that reason.

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#183662 - 09/30/09 01:25 AM Re: The Fire Alarm Sounds. Do you... [Re: 2005RedTJ]
Desperado Offline
Veteran

Registered: 11/01/08
Posts: 1530
Loc: DFW, Texas
That was me talking about how little time one has.

the 90 seconds the Discovery Channel gave was very optimistic.
_________________________
I do the things that I must, and really regret, are unfortunately necessary.

RIP OBG

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#183689 - 09/30/09 09:17 AM Re: The Fire Alarm Sounds. Do you... [Re: Desperado]
adam2 Offline
Addict

Registered: 05/23/08
Posts: 477
Loc: Somerset UK
I would be tempted to ignore a fire alarm if in low risk premises from which escape is easy.
In a higher risk situation I would evacuate promptly.

Low risk IMHO includes ground floor, small simple premises with plenty of exits and daylight.
Small shops, bars and restaurants (ground floor only) especialy if I am familiar with the premises.
The ground floor only of large retail outlets.
Ground level railway stations.

In higher risk premise I would probably evacuate promptly, examples of what I would consider to be high risk include theatres, cinemas and similar crowded places, anything not on the ground floor, and workplaces handling hazardous materials.

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#183714 - 09/30/09 01:37 PM Re: The Fire Alarm Sounds. Do you... [Re: Desperado]
Stu Offline
I am not a P.P.o.W.
Old Hand

Registered: 05/16/05
Posts: 1058
Loc: Finger Lakes of NY State
Originally Posted By: Desperado
Since meeting the firefighter in full turn-outs and scba I mentioned in the previous thread, and the one gloriously aflame hotel....

YEP

And I don't care how many times the darn thing has gone off in the preceding days/weeks/months.

I recently worked with a medically retired FF that still keeps his bail-out rig in his hotel room. I bet he makes it to the ground before the folks on the first floor make it out the door.

I do the same thing!
_________________________
Our most important survival tool is our brain, and for many, that tool is way underused! SBRaider
Head Cat Herder

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