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Fire drill?

Random question but what do people do if the fire alarm goes off whilst in the shower or something?😂

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Reply 1
Avatar for Foxehh
Foxehh
21
Well then your screwed.
Original post by rubyy00
Random question but what do people do if the fire alarm goes off whilst in the shower or something?😂

Hey @rubyy00!

Most people wait a few minutes to see if it turns off before they leave, they don't all run out as soon as it goes off as there tend to be a lot of 'fakes' so you'd be able to get out and changed. :smile:

Courtney -- Official Student Rep :smile:
Hi there,

Fire drills are held to ensure residents know exactly what to do in the event of a real fire. You should always evacuate the building if the fire alarm goes off, never assume it's false or fake and never ignore, especially it if it's a continuous alarm.

Remember, the alarm is there for your safety :smile:
Reply 4
Avatar for Beanbag2
Beanbag2
7
Original post by rubyy00
Random question but what do people do if the fire alarm goes off whilst in the shower or something?😂


I would immediately turn off the shower, quickly get dressed and run out of the house like a man on fire.
Original post by rubyy00
Random question but what do people do if the fire alarm goes off whilst in the shower or something?😂

That very thing happened to me. I was in the middle of washing my hair, and I heard the alarm go off. I waited about 30 seconds to see if the alarm would stop, it didn't, so I quickly rinsed my hair and went to grab some clothes. After another 30 seconds, the alarm did indeed stop, so I never actually evacuated in the end.
Original post by PhoenixFortune
That very thing happened to me. I was in the middle of washing my hair, and I heard the alarm go off. I waited about 30 seconds to see if the alarm would stop, it didn't, so I quickly rinsed my hair and went to grab some clothes. After another 30 seconds, the alarm did indeed stop, so I never actually evacuated in the end.

I would recommend evacuating immediately. This is what I have been taught in every education establishment I've been to (that I can remember), from primary school to FE college. Dilly dallying can be dangerous, and result in injury or loss of life. Not worth it.
You're fine if you're in the shower.
Original post by DunHolmHouseDurham
Hi there,

Fire drills are held to ensure residents know exactly what to do in the event of a real fire. You should always evacuate the building if the fire alarm goes off, never assume it's false or fake and never ignore, especially it if it's a continuous alarm.

Remember, the alarm is there for your safety :smile:

That said sometimes a separate alarm will sound that does not mean evacuate, it means "prepare to evacuate". In the event of such an alarm sounding, then you should have time to at least dry yourself up, and get changed first. You should familiarise yourself with the different alarms and sounds in advance. If you don't know i.e. are in any doubt, then you must treat it as it were the "evacuate" alarm, and evacuate immediately i.e. just wrap a towel around you, grab your shoes, get out right away, and then proceed to your assembly point.
(edited 3 years ago)
This happened to me on a school residential trip 😭
Our teacher made us cover ourself with towels and we went outside in the cold in bare foot 😫
Original post by Rufus the red
You're fine if you're in the shower.

Wrong! That is a myth, similar myths about fire safety have previously resulted in injury and/or loss of life. For example, there was a case in which people in a shop were ordered to evacuate the store due to a fire. However no one listened, as the customers wanted to pay for their purchases before leaving the store, and the staff still wanted to serve them without leaving the checkouts unattended. Both were wrong, and numerous people died, with many survivors horribly injured as a direct result of this incident.

Do not believe any of these myths. If you do, then you are not just putting your own life at risk (which is bad enough), but you are also putting the lives of others e.g. fire wardens, flatmates (who may be concerned about you), firefighters, paramedics, and Police officers (all of which may respond to a reported fire), at risk. Remember: Fire Kills. You can prevent it.
Original post by rxyaltyx
This happened to me on a school residential trip 😭
Our teacher made us cover ourself with towels and we went outside in the cold in bare foot 😫

If it wasn't a drill i.e. was an unexpected alarm out of nowhere, then the teacher was just doing their job.

If it was however then dare I say whoever carried out the drill is at fault, doing drills like that results in the alarm not being taken seriously in my opinion. Nevertheless the teacher was only doing their job if they weren't at fault for carrying out this drill, which they most likely weren't.
Reply 12
Avatar for \^_^/
\^_^/
19
Original post by rxyaltyx
This happened to me on a school residential trip 😭
Our teacher made us cover ourself with towels and we went outside in the cold in bare foot 😫


omg that's sad
Original post by ^_^/
omg that's sad

Agreed but what would be even more sad is if there was a real fire, but the teacher hesitated to order an immediate evacuation, which lead to unnecessary injury and/or loss of life.
Original post by CletusPotter
Wrong! That is a myth, similar myths about fire safety have previously resulted in injury and/or loss of life. For example, there was a case in which people in a shop were ordered to evacuate the store due to a fire. However no one listened, as the customers wanted to pay for their purchases before leaving the store, and the staff still wanted to serve them without leaving the checkouts unattended. Both were wrong, and numerous people died, with many survivors horribly injured as a direct result of this incident.

Do not believe any of these myths. If you do, then you are not just putting your own life at risk (which is bad enough), but you are also putting the lives of others e.g. fire wardens, flatmates (who may be concerned about you), firefighters, paramedics, and Police officers (all of which may respond to a reported fire), at risk. Remember: Fire Kills. You can prevent it.

My pfp is a cuddly fox please don't expect me to take stuff seriously.
Original post by Rufus the red
My pfp is a cuddly fox please don't expect me to take stuff seriously.

Define stuff? If by that you mean fire safety, then you're wrong. You are expected (not by me but by the fire brigade and your Uni) to take fire safety seriously. Anyone not doing so risks killing multiple people, and is guilty of a moral (if not legal) manslaughter in my opinion should anyone apart from you die as a result.

As for me being a strict on this point, this is only because I have had a few mates who took nothing seriously. One of them spent the majority of his time either drunk or "all coked up", which lead to a few disappointments, finally culminating in him telling me to "**** off" and calling me a "daft ****". Needless to say, we are no longer mates.
Original post by CletusPotter
I would recommend evacuating immediately. This is what I have been taught in every education establishment I've been to (that I can remember), from primary school to FE college. Dilly dallying can be dangerous, and result in injury or loss of life. Not worth it.

I would have evacuated as soon as I was decent (aka. not covered in shampoo and in my birthday suit), but it stopped before I could. It was in the minus figures outside, so I wasn't going to go out in just a towel. Yes, immediate evacuation is ideal, but isn't possible in all cases. That doesn't mean people won't evacuate full stop.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by CletusPotter
Define stuff? If by that you mean fire safety, then you're wrong. You are expected (not by me but by the fire brigade and your Uni) to take fire safety seriously. Anyone not doing so risks killing multiple people, and is guilty of a moral (if not legal) manslaughter in my opinion should anyone apart from you die as a result.

As for me being a strict on this point, this is only because I have had a few mates who took nothing seriously. One of them spent the majority of his time either drunk or "all coked up", which lead to a few disappointments, finally culminating in him telling me to "**** off" and calling me a "daft ****". Needless to say, we are no longer mates.

I wouldn't not take things like fire safety seriously if I was in that situation or giving proper advice to someone. I didn't assume my first comment would go awry as the op appeared to make the thread in a jocular fashion judging by their tone. If they had said something along the lines of 'I'm really scared/worried - what happens if the fire alarm goes off whilst I am showering?' I wouldn't have made that comment as it would have been off-topic and could lead to them making unsafe choices. Therefore I felt justified in making a tongue-in-cheek comment which I didn't think someone would misconstrue as a licence to ignore fire alarms if showering.
Original post by PhoenixFortune
I would have evacuated as soon as I was decent (aka. not covered in shampoo and in my birthday suit), but it stopped before I could. It was in the minus figures outside, so I wasn't going to go out in just a towel. Yes, immediate evacuation is ideal, but isn't possible in all cases. That doesn't mean people won't evacuate full stop.

I disagree. If an alarm is given that means "prepare to evacuate", then I would've dried myself off, got dressed, and put my shoes and socks on, for as long as there was still time. But as soon as the actual "evacuate immediately" alarm sounded, then I would just get the hell out of there ASAP. There isn't always time for getting changed unfortunately in this situation. It just happens.
Original post by CletusPotter
I disagree. If an alarm is given that means "prepare to evacuate", then I would've dried myself off, got dressed, and put my shoes and socks on, for as long as there was still time. But as soon as the actual "evacuate immediately" alarm sounded, then I would just get the hell out of there ASAP. There isn't always time for getting changed unfortunately in this situation. It just happens.

In my accommodation, there was no 'prepare to evacuate' alarm, so all alarms (even the tests) sounded the same.

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