UGH! I'm so disgusted and angry. I live in a highrise apartment, and this evening someone pulled the fire alarm (false alarm). Everyone knew it was a false alarm, but I, like always, grabbed my ID and headed downstairs and outside as we're supposed to do. Naturally, the fire department shows up, goes in and in about 20 minutes or so, the all clear is given and we can return to our apartments.
It really irks me, however, to be outside and look up at the building (first instinct is the look for smoke), and see tons of people looking out their windows or even on their balconies, watching the people and fire fighters below. This really burns me up. Our fire fighters work damn, damn hard, putting their lives in danger, and people don't even have the decency to go outside during a fire alarm. Heaven help if there really had been a fire. It just means that those fire fighters would have had to potentially rescue MANY more people than necessary in the building, putting themselves and the residents in danger. Meanwhile more of the building would burn, causing more property damage to all. How are people so inconsiderate, and don't think of this?
Now, I realize that some people are disabled, or really unable to quickly evacuate a building. Those are the people who would really need saving. Not some lazy*sses who are just to sloth-like to evacuate. I really believe we should have some sort of by-law, whereby, when a fire alarm happens you must evacuate. The fire department should have the right to go through the building and ticket all those who do not leave their apartments. For those who are unable to leave (i.e. disabled, etc.), they can apply for a city permit giving them exemption from evacuating. Either that, or people start to forfeit their right to rescue, should a fire occur (and we obviously know this can't happen).
Maybe if people started getting ticketed, people would actually do the right thing and evacuate in the first place. Why risk it? You are just putting yourself or loved ones potentially in danger.
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While I have never lived in a high rise, I have been rousted from a deep sleep and forced to walk down 34 floors in a major hotel in Toronto due to a false alarm.
The inconvenience was small, but the people who were in their rooms with the door open as we returned to our room were just plain stupid in my opinion.
Good for you that you evacuated. You did the right thing and do it every time. Your life may depend on it one day.
i used to live in an apartment building about 4 years ago, and stopped going outside after the first dozen or so false alarms in a month.
no one is going to keep trudging out day after day after day after day. the solution is for the city to start fining the building heavily, thereby providing incentive for the building's management to install security cameras near fire alarms or to increase the foot patrol.
I hope they beat the butt of the guy who pulled the alarm. It's so annoying when that happens! My single mom friend used to live in an apartment and think of how annoying that was for her when it happened fairly regularly - bundling up the little ones in the night to go down because some jerk decided to pull the alarm!
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I don't think people realize just how fast a fire can blaze up and out of control.
I lost two nieces and two nephews to a fire. When a couch catches fire the flames smolder in the cushions. This builds up a lot of heat and bursts into flames that can go out of control in seconds. NEVER, no matter where you are or how inconvenient it is, NEVER ignore fire alarms. It would be more inconvenient to be dead. A fireman was seriously hurt trying to rescue the children.
i used to live in an apartment building about 4 years ago, and stopped going outside after the first dozen or so false alarms in a month.
no one is going to keep trudging out day after day after day after day. the solution is for the city to start fining the building heavily, thereby providing incentive for the building's management to install security cameras near fire alarms or to increase the foot patrol.
I agree: the perpetrators are the ones who pulled the fire alarm, not the ones who don't evacuate, and buiding mgmt needs to do more to prevent false alarms.
That being said, given a real fire, I never had much sympathy for those who didn't evacuate if a real fire was occurring when I lived in highrises. My thought was that if you're inconvenienced, take a book, lug your laptop, or bring your mobile outside. Although it sucks if you're in the middle of dinner or a good TV show!!
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One of the reasons why so few people died at the World Trade Centre on 9/11 was that the previous attack (a bomb in the parkade) made the building occupants aware of security, so they did what they were supposed to without hesitation, ie, the majority headed for ground level via the stairs. Too bad that all high rise residents couldn't have a sense of urgency instilled somehow.
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That being said, given a real fire, I never had much sympathy for those who didn't evacuate if a real fire was occurring when I lived in highrises. My thought was that if you're inconvenienced, take a book, lug your laptop, or bring your mobile outside. Although it sucks if you're in the middle of dinner or a good TV show!!
Aside from endangering their own lives, they are also putting at risk the lives of firefighters whose duty it is to save those who are trapped inside.
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