Sat in a restaurant in stanstead departures when the fire alarm goes off. Multi language announcement saying ‘get out now’ and a pretty loud tone.

I grab my bag and start heading for the fire exit – literally and I mean literally none else
Moved by the time I got to the fire exit. I stood there a few seconds thinking am I hearing things before a few others started moving towards me as well – down the fire exit I head. Eventually turned back by staff and all calm again in departures but that was at least 15 mins of the alarm sounding.

Thee was no way I was hanging around.

Bugger off. I’m not moving until I see flames, smoke or something blows up.

did you take your pint ?

Maybe that’s it – I’d finished food so no penalty for leaving but the risk/reward equation would have been a no brainer even if I had food.

Didn’t think staff are allowed to send you back in?!

It’s even worse when you are the person responsible for the building getting evacuated and are met with a could not GAF attitude. I’ve often thought giving people a respectable amount of time and then some then barring the doors and lobbing a few smoke grenades in and watching them shit themselves would be reasonable recompense for the extra hassle and possibly risk they generate for people tasked with keeping them safe. That or don’t give a shit and let Darwinian principles take their course when there is a real emergency.

Was anyone in a hi vis tabard carrying a clipboard ?

Same happened at Mrs M’s work 2 weeks ago. Her exit down the stairs (from the 2nd floor) was blocked by a colleague hurrying UP the stairs to get back to the office to get her coat and bag because it ‘looked like it might rain’. 😯 Mrs M’s comments that this was not on and was outrageous were ignored. Made for a frosty atmosphere in the office that afternoon.

Think I remember a documentary about this kind of thing. People are very very slow to respond to emergency situations and it can get them killed.

ah.. .here we go:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150128-how-to-survive-a-disaster

survival experts were astonished at the high death toll. It appears that many people drowned because they did nothing to save themselves. “A number of people… seem to have been incapable of rational thought or behaviour because of their fear,” concluded the official report into the accident. “Others appeared petrified and could not be forced to move. Some panicking, apathetic and shocked people were beyond reach and did not react when other passengers tried to guide them, not even when they used force or shouted at them.”

It’s Negative Panic.

Indeed, can’t allow the Americans to see us reeling.

I was once walking through central London in the days before mobile phones/in ear headphones when I heard the wail of the emergency services sirens a few streets away. Got louder and louder until a panda car comes screecing round the corner into the road I was on at full chat…… just as a group of tourists step out in front of him forcing an emergency stop! Couldn’t believe my eyes!

Nowt so queer as folk!

A bit long but worth a watch
[video]https://youtu.be/MtX-10c3fT0[/video]

That or don’t give a shit and let Darwinian principles take their course when there is a real emergency.

Problem is it’s done to death. (perhaps literally)

but the risk/reward equation would have been a no brainer even if I had food.

Not everyone has the same view.

I’ve been in hundreds of evacuation drills and been in a real life or death situation a handful of times. Non of the real life and death situations have ever had an alarm before though… just a bang or shattering of glass.

Based on this alarm = drill … smoke/big bang/ being showered in broken glass = real thing that might or might not then be followed by an alarm.

@cheesybeans – yes there was at one point.

Still bemused by it – not had time to browse the links but think there must be a bit of science why no one moved.

there must be a bit of science why no one moved.

Collective apathy. Fear of being the first.
People are herd creatures and will usually do what they’re told if they have strong leadership but in the absence of that, they’ll default to doing what everyone else does.
One of those studies covered it, having planted a couple of people who would either “panic” or who would remain calm but do nothing or who would take charge, and the difference in behaviour of the test subjects was very significant.

This gets shown whenever I’m given fire marshal training:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIxN3ypB3rw[/video]

I don’t think I’d wait around if I thought there was a fire.

Its a bit peculiar. ‘Cos I work in healthcare and have responsibilities in a fire I always react very strongly and quickly to alarms – its how I have been trained – to take a lead

I work on the top (4th) floor of a converted mill. We’ve been there about 18 months, and in that time we’ve had a couple of fire drills and one false alarm.
After the false alarm (triggered by the builders next door), we were told the fire alarms would have to be turned off and our H&S officer sent everyone home. I think staff from the other companies stayed on the rest of the afternoon.

This gets shown whenever I’m given fire marshal training:

At 5mins in…. 😯

I remember a training video – real CCTV – of a fire in a fridge by a shop door, and even though they had to wave through the smoke, people kept coming into the shop, and it took several minutes before someone brought the fire to the attention of staff.

No-one wants to take the lead with things like this – they seem to not see it.

No-one wants to take the lead with things like this – they seem to not see it.

We have a provisional coded warning in our building, one designed to get the attention of the right staff without upsetting nor alarming the public. That then becomes the full alarm if needed. A member of staff was on the phone to a customer as this happened and was trying to explain that he needed to hang up but the customer kept going on so he stayed talking on the phone!

We were like “just **** hang up!”. He said afterwards he didn’t want to be rude!

The chemical labs I used to work at were really quite good, there was a definite procedure (turn off all heat sources and all chemical additions, leave on all coolant flow and stirrers) and it was well practiced, lead by good experienced members of staff and no-one there was daft enough to stay in a building packed with chemicals and solvents!

People are bizarre indeed. I had the misfortune to be out on the floors once when the alarm went off at the Museum of Scotland, so as staff I was expected to pitch in. Sooooo many people argued about leaving. Me “madam, the fire alarm is going off, please leave the building immediately: “its raining” “we just checked our bags in, can we get them back?” “what about the buggy for Jazzminn?”. All the while the frankly quite scary fire curtains are slowly rolling down between the buildings.

Tempting as it was to leave them and save myself, one of the actual guards came by and started shouting rudely, which was much more effective.

I got a telling off once, when a fire drill was run, because I left the building via a fire exit different to the one in the department in which I usually worked, the reason being that was significantly further away than the one I left by!
I figured that my safety in the event of there being an actual fire beat the protocol that said I should leave via the one in the department I was usually assigned to, despite that being on the opposite side of the building to where I was actually working at the time, which didn’t cut much ice with certain people…

We had a fire alarm at night in a premier inn recently. Got kids up and out quickly but it was a big worry how confused the staff were, that the majority of guests just milled around on whatever floor they were staying at.