query - i’m a waitress that spends some time in a walk-in in california. just for argument’s sake - how long could i live in a walk-in if an earthquake, or some other thing happened where i was stuck in the thing??
Query: what’s a “walk-in”?
Walk-in freezer?
Walk-in closet?
I bet it would be creepy to get trapped in a walk-in freezer.
Since she’s a waitress, I’m guessing she’s referring to a walk-in freezer. The ones that have been in restaurants I’ve worked at have had an emergency release located inside the walk-in, but some models don’t. And yes, it is extremely creepy being inside one.
It’s not as creepy as being in a morgue late at night because your little sister dared you to go down there and decided to block the door with a gurney while you kicked and screamed for about fifteen minutes.
hepta, allow me to add that to my list of “Incredibly Creepy Situations Involving a Morgue,” to be routinely dusted off whenever I’m in need of a good crawly feeling on the back of my neck.
I’m assuming that the OP refers to walk-in refrigerators that most restuarants, fast-food places, convenience stores, etc. have. They have an internal temperature that hovers around 33-34F.
I think what the OP was asking is: how long could a person in their street clothes last in a closed environment at a temperature a couple of degrees above freezing? For arguement’s sake, let’s say the supply of food and liquid (milk, whatever juices might be in there, etc.) is not an issue.
I think the important thing would be to keep the door open, that way you wouldn’t have to really worry about freezing. If the door is shut there is a possibily of it becoming blocked by debris, and depending on how thick the walls are, rescuers might not be able to hear you knocking even if you’re still alive and not frozen.
A walk in refrigerator eh? , well when working at Mc’ds a few guys played a prank on me they locked me in for about 10 minutes with the lights off , came out no ill effects.When i was working as the back room staff to restock burgers and crud like that i could be in and out the walk in all day no ill effects . And those darned Mc’ds costumes (which heh in the UK we don’t have to buy) are mighty thin.
First of all, it would take an earthquake to block your egress, I’ve never seen a walk-in door without an emergency release on the inside, and I’ve worked in some pretty decrepit kitchens. Oh, and I have occasionally thought about preparing “Blue Waitress” as a special (come to think of it she was a “Debra” as well, have we worked together?) but that’s beside the point.
If the earthquake didn’t knock out the power, there is usually a switch to turn off the condensor, or eveporator, whatever–I’m the chef not the repair guy. Turn that off and you’re no longer adding cold to the system, or removing heat, whatever, I’m the… Now, how full is the walk-in? Heavily loaded, you have a lot of thermal mass, can you pour the sauces out under the door? how 'bout that wine rack, here’s your opportunity to try that $200.00 Mersualt you’ve always wondered about, you do have your service, don’t you? Don’t over do it though, the “alcohol warms you up myth” is just that.
Is there anything you can use for insulation? Bread might work, squid would be bad. Worse comes to worse, you’re in a closed system. Start adding heat, You could try the waitress work-out (customer fake out, deep lunge tray balance, even jumping jacks). My guess, is that you’ll be back tomorrow to screw up an order and beg for Coconut Creme Caramel.
Freezer? You just might be a waitcicle.
There was a grocery store in my hometown, the walk-in had an axe on the inside of the door.
Now there’s a real man’s emergency escape lever.
The walkin freezer at my old job had this odd system of locking for 30 seconds whenever the door closed. The lights would go off, and the door would be literally impossible to open until those 30 seconds were up. We always went down there in pairs, since no one wanted to get stuck even for half a minute in a pitch black freezer full of meat in the basement of an old building…