Fire Alarm

We had just settled down to a meeting, when 10 minutes in to it, the fire alarm went off. That means we all had to evacuate the building as soon as possible. Because the 6th floor is closed for cafeteria renovation, I thought for sure it had something to do with that. So we all made our way down four flights of stairs and outside to our appointed areas, checked in so we would all be accounted for, and waited for the "all clear." The last time we had a fire alarm it was very cold and windy, and we sought refuge in the House Office Building. Today, it was about 95 degrees, and comfortable under the shade until the waiting time got to be longer than expected. Once the all clear was finally given, I went back to the entryway, but decided to walk home for lunch instead of fighting the crowd to get back in. There's not much of a problem getting out of the building, but to get back in, each and every one needs to go through security again. By the time I would have gotten back up to the office, it would have been time to go home for lunch anyway. I'm so glad I live so close! And the reason for the alarm? Someone accidentally tripped the switch. Time in lost productivity? The number of employees x hours outside x average salary.....not cheap.

Waiting to get checked in

Going back to the salt mine after the "all clear"

Employees are scattered as far as two blocks away

The streets are blocked off

Don't feel like fighting the crowd to get back in

NOT ANOTHER ONE

I arrived at work this morning at 8AM. By 9:30, the fire alarm went off, so everyone had to evacuate the building. We just went through this not too long ago. Once you get to your designated place and sign in, you are free to wander about until the "all clear" is communicated. We went to the building across the street, because it was still quite cold outside. By around 1100, we arrived back at the work station. So, there were about 3500 employees (maybe more, but it is a Friday, and less people are in the building... supposedly there are ~5000 employees all told....); assume an average $20.00 per hour wage; for one and one half hours of down time. How much did that cost us in non-productive time and money? Because there was an actual fire that needed to be extinguished... could it have been prevented? Usually in this neighborhood, people don't proactively fix things. They wait until it breaks. And even if you do something proactively, your neighbor doesn't, so you rarely benefit from being on top of things. When we moved to the "other" building, someone asked why that building never has fire alarms and ours always does. Someone quipped that the people in THAT building are more important. I guess that is all relative.

Employees exiting the building, the fire trucks just arrived...
Another $100,000+ wasted

NOISE

Usually it is very quiet in the neighborhood and in the building, especially on the weekends. We can sit on the patio in the summer and it is sometimes hard to believe that we are living in an urban sound scape because it is so very peaceful. But this weekend was indeed an exception. The fire alarm was triggered on Friday night, and turned off by a person who has a key; it sounded again on Saturday night, and reset by a person who has a key; and it went off again on Sunday night, and remained on all night through to the next day in to the afternoon. It may be that we are the only ones who hear the shrill noise, report it, and try to have it addressed.... By this evening, we were given a key to reset it ourselves until a technician fixes the obvious malfunction. I can't believe that others do not hear it (?) or maybe they do and choose to ignore it. Community living can be interesting. When we walked out of the building this morning, the noise continued outside and my ears were now on overload- the construction across the street has been going on for the last 4 years, the emergency vehicles are typically racing by, and then the door to the apartment was squeaking. At least one of these items I do have some control over. The hinges got a squirt of WD40 this evening, and I was very happy! Speaking of noise pollution, there is an escalator directly above my office. Whenever someone walks in, they are astounded by the racket. I, on the other hand, have grown accustomed to it. Is this why my ears are ringing all the time?

Please give us the key!
We'd be happy to reset the darn thing.

BUILDING EVACUATION

The last thing I want to do in the late afternoon in freezing temperatures and gusty winds is have to go outside and stand for an hour because of a REAL evacuation alert at work. At least I was dressed for the part. Several folks come to work, park in the garage, and don't have coats. We knew it was "for real" because the drills usually occur in the "pleasant temperature" months.  So the hundreds of occupants trekked down the stairwell and to their designated places, all heads were accounted for, and then we sought shelter in an adjacent building. By the time the "all clear" was sounded, it was time to go home.

The response was quick, but it was COLD outside!