# Fire drills: the literal ones **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 8, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576 "2015-07-08T14:44:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/41 "2015-07-17T19:13:10Z")
In NJ, there are two actions that can lead to expulsion: Assault on a teacher and falsely activating a fire alarm. That is expulsion as in permanent removal from school, not just suspension for a limited time. There are also, of course, criminal penalties for both. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/42 "2015-07-17T20:01:52Z")
So you can kill a student and stay at school? That’s quite progressive ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/43 "2015-07-21T00:41:58Z")
I was in a situation where the apartment next to mine burned at 3:00 am on a Sunday morning. The whole situation scared the bejesus out of me. I don’t mess around when it comes to fire drills and it annoys me when people don’t take them seriously. Also, I gained a new appreciation for fire fighters. It’s a literal term. They “fight” the fire and it can be a violent situation. Interestingly, sometimes the fire fighters will keep people in their apartments if they have a window that will open and if the hallway is too filled with smoke. There are fire fighters that are assigned to finding out who is where in the building and plan their best passage to safety. Experience a real fire and you get fire safety religion real fast. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/44 "2015-07-21T02:06:55Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > …Also, don’t forget about dorms. In college they were (had to be) loud enough to wake us up… Not on purpose, but I actually ended up sleeping through multiple fire alarms in college. This being a college dorm the fire alarm went off about twice a month (in the middle of the night) either because some dumbass burnt something in the microwave, or just decided it would be fun to pull a false alarm (which as we were constantly reminded the penalty for which was expulsion & referral to civil authorities). I’ve never had to put up with cramp like that in any of the apartment buildings I’ve lived in. > [@Dingbang](#): > > …They’d complete their transaction (with the clerk who also wasn’t reacting apparently) and then scoot by the fire again on the way out. This went on for several minutes. It was amazing to watch… The supermarket were I once worked had a fire in the kitchen. People wanted to continue shopping despite the smell of smoke; being a part-time cashier and making just above minimum wage I just secured my register and walked away from by customer, ignoring her bitching at me (I didn’t even turn around to face her). Management was responsible for actually getting people to leave. And then after the building was evacuated, had a fire truck parked at the entrance and a huge crowd of people in the larking, and police present people would still pull in, grab a shopping cart, and get into arguments over not being allowed in. Some people deserve to burn to death, preferably \*before \*they breed. > [@Nava](#): > > That particular one is actually campus accomodations. Part of a university. Not open to the general public. You need to have business at the university to rent a room there. > > But how is it humiliating to get your ass out of the shower? I’ve had to evacuate normal hotels several times due to alarms going off (all of them, caused by someone trying to turn the shower into a sauna) and nobody seemed to have a problem with being around in our oh-so-sexy… > bathrobes and naked feet,… My roommate once ended up wrapping a shower current around him during a fire drill; it didn’t hit him until after he was outside that our shower curtains were transparent. :smack: > [@Debillw3](#): > > Back in high school, there was a problem with people pulling the fire alarm to get out of tests and such (these were kids who already had records, so the idea of more jail wasn’t much of a deterrent)… This is also a major reason why despite what you see on TV pulling a fire alarm does **not** trigger the sprinklers; there has to be an actual flame or heat source near the sprinkler head to go off. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/45 "2015-07-21T04:00:20Z")
> [@Dingbang](#): > > The article included a video from England in which a surveillance camera caught a kid setting fire to a display of potato chips and such inside a small convenience store. The fire spread pretty quickly, engulfing the display. The video showed people nonetheless continuing to enter the store, walking right by the fire near the doorway. They would scoot away from it, maybe gesture like “wow, there’s a fire here” and then go into the store to buy candy or whatever. And this was a small, confined space that was about to completely go up in flames. They’d complete their transaction (with the clerk who also wasn’t reacting apparently) and then scoot by the fire again on the way out. This went on for several minutes. It was amazing to watch. Was it this one? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/W2cNVbMoHto/hqdefault.jpg "Threshers fire in shop") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2cNVbMoHto) ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/46 "2015-07-21T15:01:13Z")
I live in a retirement apartment building. Our alarm is painful. But people sleep through it - some people take their hearing aids out when they sleep. Who would have thought? Staff has to check each apartment. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/47 "2015-07-21T16:27:58Z")
We’ve had a number of fire alarms in our building, and the alarm is loud enough to cause me intense nausea. That’s fun. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/48 "2015-07-21T20:52:12Z")
In my case it is physically impossible for me to leave my apartment building during a fire alarm since the elevators turn off and I am paraplegic (well, I suppose in theory I could bounce myself down several flights of stairs on my butt, but I’d have to be pretty damn desperate). Interestingly, although the fire alarm is BLOODY LOUD if you are right by it (and there is one fairly close to my apartment) I’m pretty sure I could sleep through it if I was sound asleep in bed; the concrete walls between it and my bedroom absorb most of the sound. There is a fire alarm status display right near the elevator on my floor (I think on all floors, but don’t know for sure). If the alarm goes off I put in some ear plugs and go see what the display sees the problem is, so I know whether to give a sh-t. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/49 "2015-07-21T21:39:13Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > So you can kill a student and stay at school? That’s quite progressive You have missed that this is New Jersey. Can’t reduce the graduation rate that much! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/50 "2015-07-21T21:41:24Z")
I’m right next to the alarm so I leave fast. A building where I used to work had a water pressure problem, and reduced pressure in the sprinkler system for some reason set off the alarm. We were out practically every week. The last drill we had they set up a free ice cream stand, so I suspect people have more incentive to leave. In California at least the weather is good also. ---
**Author:** ![Cell\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Cell\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cell_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/51 "2015-07-21T23:23:51Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Do any AHJs really allow variations from NFPA 72? I can see it maybe happening for some industrial applications, but not for commercial purposes. I’ve never seen a town that required less than NFPA 72, but I’ve worked in some that require more. All fire wire run in conduits regardless of type of building, all NACs powered off supplementary power supplies, waterproof electrical boxes used in buildings equipped with sprinkler systems, etc. Working in that particular town is a PITA. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/52 "2015-07-22T09:28:52Z")
One time out local city fire department safety inspector came down to a local office and demanded an immediate fire drill. The manager refused saying they were at a busy and critical time. Well the inspector left and came back with police and yes, that time the place was shut down. The fire inspector then took his own sweet time making a slow inspection before allowing the employees to re-enter and business to continue. Lesson learned - do NOT mess with the fire inspector. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2015, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/53 "2015-08-05T08:00:03Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Also, don’t forget about dorms. In college they were (had to be) loud enough to wake us up. I’m glad my college days were well before any of this foolishness started.😃 I can’t remember there ever being a fire drill over the four academic years spent living in dorms–unless I slept through it, of course. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/54 "2015-08-05T15:58:14Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I’m glad my college days were well before any of this foolishness started.😃 > > I can’t remember there ever being a fire drill over the four academic years spent living in dorms–unless I slept through it, of course. We had a fire my first semester in college. Does that count? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2015, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/55 "2015-08-05T22:09:24Z")
I’m not going to argue with those who have said it’s loud so that we’ll move. I’ll just say that I used to be the floor monitor for our section. I got to sweep the area to be sure everyone left. I can attest that the alarm is a lot quieter when you go into the restroom. I don’t think that we’ve had many deliberate fire drills. The alarms tend to go off whenever anyone works on the elevators, though, so we’ve had plenty of non-deliberate ones. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/56 "2015-08-06T04:27:31Z")
The thing I’ve always wondered about is fire alarms in malls and airport terminals and other places where there are many people entering and exiting and only remaining for a relatively-short time. Do they even have fire drills in the public areas? Are there personnel trained to herd befuddled visitors to the exits? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576/57 "2015-08-06T05:30:26Z")
The training, yes. The evacuation drills, not so much. My brother was once in a big supermarket that had to be evacuated: nothing major, nothing ohmygawdgetoutofhereurgent but people had to leave. They started by communicating through the employees, rather than use the loudspeakers (which as so often happens could have been called the loudgarblers) or alarms. By the time the alarm was triggered, it was a matter of “let’s get those final slowpokes moving”. Turned out to be a false alarm (bro suspects it was actually a drill). The people who did worst were a few storekeepers from the smaller stores and some of the older shoppers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-drills-the-literal-ones/724576.md?page=2)