Fe-y

[threemonkeys]

We just had a fire alarm at work - just a drill. But one of the sirens is really loud - really really loud. Much louder than it needs to be as there are plenty of other sirens around and well beyond the pain threshold - my ears are still ringing. It is in a stairwell that funnels everybody to the designated meeting area, so you cant miss it. People were holding their hands over their ears to block the noise which in a crowded stairwell can't help but increase the chances of an accident because of people not holding onto handrails.

"When safety becomes dangerous" - sounds like the title for a TV show. I don't think irony is a big selling point in shows like that though.

Comments

[lobelet.livejournal.com]

Better than the situation we had here -- one of the fire alarms was broken and when the alarms went off I couldn't hear them at all. I only knew that an alarm had gone off when I saw crowds of people walking past my room at unusual times. So I'd follow them and complain to the building manager that the fire alarm still wasn't audible in my part of the building.

"Oh thanks for that," was the invariable response. But nothing was ever done about it.

This went on for about six years and then one day the alarms went off and it really was a fire, not a drill. At which point I lost my temper.

"The fire alarms can't be heard in my part of the building. Because of this, sooner or later someone is going to die, and I don't want it to be me. You've been promising to fix this for six years now and you've done absolutely nothing. So I give you fair warning, if this situation is not remedied I am going to report you to OSH and have the whole building closed down."

The next day the workmen appeared and the fire alarms were fixed.

But why did it have to take 6 years and a threat of legal action before the thing was fixed? The bog, as it were, mindles.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Wow, thats terrible. Every workplace I've been in where there have been failed sirens (there have been a couple) have always had them fixed within days of it being reported after a drill. Its one of the reasons you have a drill - to check that all the equipment works. I have actually been a fire warden and been given the instruction that goes with it which includes ensuring that reports of failed equipment or inability to hear alarms are actioned promptly.

[lobelet.livejournal.com]

Our building manager appears to be particularly dumb and incompetent. Another ongoing problem we've had is that the emergency lighting in the stairwell didn't work, which meant that if a real fire or earthquake took out the actual power system everybody would have to stumble downstairs in the dark. Imagine the chaos, not to mention the danger!!

That one took months to fix -- every so often we'd get a memo warning us that the power was going off at 6.00pm (they were careful to do it outside office hours) so that the emergency lighting could be tested. And every memo promised us that this would be the last test 'cos it really was fixed this time. Honest!

And then a couple of weeks later they'd do it all again. I lost count of the number of times they went through this loop.

They've been very quiet of late, so I assume it's fixed, but I wouldn't take any bets on it.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Another former workplace...
There was a power cut one evening. A few of the guys were working late and discovered that there wasn't any lighting in the stairwell nor torches. Showing their initiative, they grabbed whatever laptops where around and used the screen backlighting to guide their way. It may not be much light, but way better than pitch black.

But at least the company responded quickly - the emergency lighting was installed and working by the end of the week.