Has anyone ever been in a public place when the fire alarm went off? Where they actually evacuate the building?
I had just dropped the kids in the child care center when the alarm went off. We all looked around like fools. I asked the guy behind the laundry counter, "Is this for real?" "I dunno." So, I turned around and went back into the child care center. They let me in the gate to get my kids, but they wouldn't let me back out. There are procedures, you see. And those procedures are as follows:
All the kids are gathered up into the main play area (the areas are divided by low walls with doors in and out). The main area has doors that open up to an outside play area. Out we go. The outside play area has a gate that opens up to the parking lot. Out we go. We cross the parking lot - it isn't a far distance since it is the side of the building - and get all the kids onto the grass. They didn't let the kids get their shoes and jackets out of the cubbies, so these babies were cold and scared!
We were on the grass for five minutes max when they said we could all go in. So, across the parking lot, into the outside play place, into the main child care play area, and STOP. They wouldn't let anybody out until they counted the kids. Do you know how tricky that is? Buncha little dudes milling about or crying or playing. They tried a couple of times, and then they had us sit down in two long lines at the edge of the room. We passed inspection, and they sprung us from the joint. Off to class late as could be.
You know, I have no idea what happened in the rest of the gym. I do not believe it was evacuated. There were some parents waiting at the child care desk when we came in from the parking lot. And I thought to myself that I was really glad that I was in the child care center (I can't believe how many times I've written child care center when I always call it the playplace when I'm speaking) when the alarm went off. I would've freaked out if I were forced to evac out some other door and not go to my children. I can imagine myself busting loose and hauling it down the halls all action-movie style to rescue my kids from, well, from me being scared, I guess.
At least now I feel very secure in the procedures of the playplace if there were another evacuation. I will just exit the gym and run to the side parking lot.
I don't know why the alarm went off, but if it was a drill, then all I have to say is "Does hell go with no?" I ain't havin' that. All those poor babies! And me!
3 comments:
I am glad it was a false alarm and that everyone is safe. That can be totally scarey.
One time I was staying at a Howard Johnson with all of my sisters and my mom. We were in Phoenix for a Time Out. All of us were shoved in one room. We got there very late and of course we all talked a lot so we went to bed even later. Just as we were finally getting to sleep the fire alarm went off and we all had to evacuate the building. Good times...
At the library, if the fire alarm goes off, we have to evacuate everyone. Even if it's just a drill. (Apparently, one day when I wasn't at work, there was an actual fire. Someone set a tree in the courtyard on fire and it sparked our fire alarm. It was rainy that day and all the patrons had to stand outside for an hour.)
The best (worst?) part is that a lot of people refuse to come. They're online and don't want to leave their important internet business, so they won't come. We just leave them. It's policy. We can't endanger our own lives because some idiot refuses to leave after repeated warnings. Nice, huh?
that is awesome that you were right there by the kids when it happened. man fists would be flying if I wasn't right by my kids when that happened. I'd be trampling, shoving, screaming, cursing wow, i don't even like thinking about this hypothetically.
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