FIRE ALARM QUESTION

[SPERT20906]

When I was out to the local mall the fire alarm lights went off then the siren went off & I looked around & no one was leaving, I today am upset @ myself for not leaving right away [I was told not too the last time I left], & when it was all over & we all came back in to the mall. I talked to this security guard [doing fire watch - works with the construction people who are redoing the mall], he told me that people should leave even if it turns out to be nothing & commented that no one leaves. This is the case where I live as in we have some alarm Co. people test the alarm, the last time it went off I left but was told not too. Also last week I smelled smoke but did not do much of anything because the alarm did not go off, I heard our address go over the scanner but did not do anything until I heard the 2nd call go out & the fire trucks coming [box alarm 5.18 I found out that this is our box alarm], so I [+ a neighbor] went out. The manger was telling people that it is ok, but the fire crews came. I told him I heard a call on my scanner that there was a fire & that fire equipment was on the way. He yelled;

'WHO CALLED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT?"

I had said;

"I just heard it then smelled smoke so I am leaving"

The whole building smelled of smoke & no one really left except me & this neighbor.

The manger would not let the fire crews in & told them things were ok, but they went in anyway.

So is there anything I can do, or does the fire crews take care of things if people who are mangers of buildings do not let the fire crews in?

Also it seems like for some reason [do not know if it is all apartment building or just so called 'handicap' section 8 & 8-11] mangers do not seem to want us to leave or even have fire drills.

Stupid people, I do not care even if the building is 100+ safe. When that alarm rings I am out the door & out the building!

Thanks

Bob

 

[colheli]

When I was out to the local mall the fire alarm lights went off then the siren went off & I looked around & no one was leaving, I today am upset @ myself for not leaving right away [I was told not too the last time I left], & when it was all over & we all came back in to the mall. I talked to this security guard [doing fire watch - works with the construction people who are redoing the mall], he told me that people should leave even if it turns out to be nothing & commented that no one leaves. This is the case where I live as in we have some alarm Co. people test the alarm, the last time it went off I left but was told not too. Also last week I smelled smoke but did not do much of anything because the alarm did not go off, I heard our address go over the scanner but did not do anything until I heard the 2nd call go out & the fire trucks coming [box alarm 5.18 I found out that this is our box alarm], so I [+ a neighbor] went out. The manger was telling people that it is ok, but the fire crews came. I told him I heard a call on my scanner that there was a fire & that fire equipment was on the way. He yelled;

'WHO CALLED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT?"

I had said;

"I just heard it then smelled smoke so I am leaving"

The whole building smelled of smoke & no one really left except me & this neighbor.

The manger would not let the fire crews in & told them things were ok, but they went in anyway.

So is there anything I can do, or does the fire crews take care of things if people who are mangers of buildings do not let the fire crews in?

Also it seems like for some reason [do not know if it is all apartment building or just so called 'handicap' section 8 & 8-11] mangers do not seem to want us to leave or even have fire drills.

Stupid people, I do not care even if the building is 100+ safe. When that alarm rings I am out the door & out the building!

Thanks

Bob

Bob,

I used to work as a Tech. Rep. for Simplex, repairing commercial fire and security systems. I can feel your pain. Many people get overconfident in buildings that actually do the mandatory testing of their fire alarm systems. They hear the alarm go off, and they stand around looking at each other. Then they roll their eyes and figure that it is another test. Any company that is testing the system, that is worth a d@mn, will announce that they are testing the system. As for the property manager not allowing the fire department into the building? I would let the fire dept. handle that. They have the law on their side. If they really want into the building, and he refuses to let them in, he can be charged with obstructing a public official, or something similar to that. ALWAYS leave the building when the alarm goes off, unless it is an announced test. No offense, Bob, but this should be common sense. Everyone knows how fast fire can move, and how fast smoke can overcome a person. If you place any value on your life, get out! If not, grab the wife/girlfriend/woman walking by in the hallway, and get busy. You can at least go out with a smile on your face.

 

[Forts]

Hey there! I'm a current tech with Simplex And you are correct... heck, half the buildings we work in, when the alarm goes off most of the people just look puzzled and say "Whats that annoying noise??". Just makes you shake your head.

 

[SPERT20906]

When I was out to the local mall the fire alarm lights went off then the siren went off & I looked around & no one was leaving, I today am upset @ myself for not leaving right away [I was told not too the last time I left], & when it was all over & we all came back in to the mall. I talked to this security guard [doing fire watch - works with the construction people who are redoing the mall], he told me that people should leave even if it turns out to be nothing & commented that no one leaves. This is the case where I live as in we have some alarm Co. people test the alarm, the last time it went off I left but was told not too. Also last week I smelled smoke but did not do much of anything because the alarm did not go off, I heard our address go over the scanner but did not do anything until I heard the 2nd call go out & the fire trucks coming [box alarm 5.18 I found out that this is our box alarm], so I [+ a neighbor] went out. The manger was telling people that it is ok, but the fire crews came. I told him I heard a call on my scanner that there was a fire & that fire equipment was on the way. He yelled;

'WHO CALLED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT?"

I had said;

"I just heard it then smelled smoke so I am leaving"

The whole building smelled of smoke & no one really left except me & this neighbor.

The manger would not let the fire crews in & told them things were ok, but they went in anyway.

So is there anything I can do, or does the fire crews take care of things if people who are mangers of buildings do not let the fire crews in?

Also it seems like for some reason [do not know if it is all apartment building or just so called 'handicap' section 8 & 8-11] mangers do not seem to want us to leave or even have fire drills.

Stupid people, I do not care even if the building is 100+ safe. When that alarm rings I am out the door & out the building!

Thanks

Bob

Bob,

I used to work as a Tech. Rep. for Simplex, repairing commercial fire and security systems. I can feel your pain. Many people get overconfident in buildings that actually do the mandatory testing of their fire alarm systems. They hear the alarm go off, and they stand around looking at each other. Then they roll their eyes and figure that it is another test. Any company that is testing the system, that is worth a d@mn, will announce that they are testing the system. As for the property manager not allowing the fire department into the building? I would let the fire dept. handle that. They have the law on their side. If they really want into the building, and he refuses to let them in, he can be charged with obstructing a public official, or something similar to that. ALWAYS leave the building when the alarm goes off, unless it is an announced test. No offense, Bob, but this should be common sense. Everyone knows how fast fire can move, and how fast smoke can overcome a person. If you place any value on your life, get out! If not, grab the wife/girlfriend/woman walking by in the hallway, and get busy. You can at least go out with a smile on your face.

Thanks :wink: , the fire alam people do say it is a test or the manger does when I am walking out the building or down the steps. I was told by some woman in code enforcement that we should get a notice when they are doing the test, but we get none. So one day I complained & we got notices, but the notice should read;


FIRE ALARM TEST
WHEN FIRE ALARM GOES OFF LEAVE THE BUILDING

We got;

FIRE ALARM TEST


& that is it.

I told the code enforcement people & they did not like it.

But actions speak louder then words, so maybe by other tenants seeing me they will follow.

Also what is to say that by me complaining to the mangement agency as well as the code enforcement people + the fire people who were here last week, that things will change when we get new mangment.

Thanks.

Bob

 

[SPERT20906]

Hey there! I'm a current tech with Simplex And you are correct... heck, half the buildings we work in, when the alarm goes off most of the people just look puzzled and say "Whats that annoying noise??". Just makes you shake your head.

Think your Co does our building, will look on the truck the next time & thanks!

Bob

 

[SPERT20906]

One of these days people will learn when it is too late.

Bob

One time dad told me if it goes off to call the fire people.

When people do alarm tests do they call the fire dispatch to let them know or is there some way that dispatch knows as in them calling people to check fire alarms on a giving date?

Also one time some crew was testing & did not put it in test mode, so the fire trucks came. Dispatch told them to have them put it on test mode, but the test mode called the dispatch & this 1 place had it out of service for a while [guess sometimes wires get wired wrong]

Also the last fire test [last month], a few people came in the hall in the first floor all :? & 1 woman said [bless her];

"People do not know what to do, some come down the elevator"

I wonder if the fire people can come to stage a drill or not?

I guess by the mangment not allowing the fire people in to check [one fire man went in anyway & others followed], it is up to the fire people to make a report on it. Dad told me that in high rise apartments they havr the police come too.

I would love to volunteer for rescue 2 in wheaton or any fire house, even just for admi. But dad tells me [he is right] that people will make :lol: of me.

Sorry if I miss spelled words.

Bob

 

[Forts]

Whenever we do testing/maintainance on a system it's standard procedure to call the monitoring company (ADT etc) and the local fire department to let them know what is being done. Procedures must also be in place in the event a real fire occurs while the system is on test. And yes, from time to time accidents and mistakes happen and the trucks come even when the system is on bypass. Human error sometimes sneaks into the equation!

 

[redhelmet13]

Fire alarms et al.

I too work for an alarm company, some may remember TSS (Tandy Security Systems 198?-2004 RIP) Now re-incarnated as TSS but owned by someone else. Our Techs have sometimes forgot to call in to put on test and forgot to silence the bell circuits - boy talk about angry folks calling in. One customer is diligent about evacuating on alarms and it had better not be a false alarm or else... Lots of fun let me tell ya...

Ed

 

[troymail]

I've actually been one of the firefighters arriving at a location
where a fire alarm was going off... it was in a local nightclub.

Not only did the people not leave, they made it difficuly for us to
get equipment inside the building to the 2nd floor where there WAS
in fact an electrical fire in a wall. People would not leave.


In another instance - I was in a building and the fire alarm went
off... other people from my office were in front of me... when we
got to the emergency exit door, the guy in front of me didn't
want to pen it because the sign on the door said "...an alarm
will sound...if this door is opened..." ... I said "Open the door!
That's what it is there for!".

I guess people like that are the reason for fire drills......

 

[SPERT20906]

I've actually been one of the firefighters arriving at a location
where a fire alarm was going off... it was in a local nightclub.

Not only did the people not leave, they made it difficuly for us to
get equipment inside the building to the 2nd floor where there WAS
in fact an electrical fire in a wall. People would not leave.


In another instance - I was in a building and the fire alarm went
off... other people from my office were in front of me... when we
got to the emergency exit door, the guy in front of me didn't
want to pen it because the sign on the door said "...an alarm
will sound...if this door is opened..." ... I said "Open the door!
That's what it is there for!".

Now I know why you picked the icon to the right of your post, some people are so stupid.

That guy was stupid, an alarm was sounding anyway, gee.

The fire dept. should site people for not leaving due to a fire alarm going off.

I think even thoug the 3rd floor [in the stair well] has a window that has a fold down fire ramp that comes down when the alarm is sounding + the glass either breaks or pops out for the fire crews to rescue people] has an emergency exit for wheelchairs, thst they should still have fire drils. Because it is not only for us, but fire crews need training too.

Bob

I guess people like that are the reason for fire drills......

 

[Hoseman292]

When I was out to the local mall the fire alarm lights went off then the siren went off & I looked around & no one was leaving, I today am upset @ myself for not leaving right away [I was told not too the last time I left], & when it was all over & we all came back in to the mall. I talked to this security guard [doing fire watch - works with the construction people who are redoing the mall], he told me that people should leave even if it turns out to be nothing & commented that no one leaves. This is the case where I live as in we have some alarm Co. people test the alarm, the last time it went off I left but was told not too. Also last week I smelled smoke but did not do much of anything because the alarm did not go off, I heard our address go over the scanner but did not do anything until I heard the 2nd call go out & the fire trucks coming [box alarm 5.18 I found out that this is our box alarm], so I [+ a neighbor] went out. The manger was telling people that it is ok, but the fire crews came. I told him I heard a call on my scanner that there was a fire & that fire equipment was on the way. He yelled;

'WHO CALLED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT?"

I had said;

"I just heard it then smelled smoke so I am leaving"

The whole building smelled of smoke & no one really left except me & this neighbor.

The manger would not let the fire crews in & told them things were ok, but they went in anyway.

So is there anything I can do, or does the fire crews take care of things if people who are mangers of buildings do not let the fire crews in?

Also it seems like for some reason [do not know if it is all apartment building or just so called 'handicap' section 8 & 8-11] mangers do not seem to want us to leave or even have fire drills.

Stupid people, I do not care even if the building is 100+ safe. When that alarm rings I am out the door & out the building!

Thanks

Bob

Must've been Wheaton Plaza. Alot of upgrades and construction there... you know how that goes. Wheaton Plaza itself is a dedicated 5-5 box area. The Wheaton Plaza North and South office buildings are 18-16 box areas. Just a little trivia.

F/F Tim Bell MCDFRS-HIRT
DFRS Dispatcher 1987-1998

 

[toydriver_det]

Re: Fire alarms et al.

I too work for an alarm company, some may remember TSS (Tandy Security Systems 198?-2004 RIP) Now re-incarnated as TSS but owned by someone else...

Ed

I too work for an alarm company and was at a vender's fire equipment training class at a hotel with about 100 other techs from at least 6 or 7 different companies when the hotel fire alarm went off. Not one person in the class (student or instructor) left the room!! After about 5 minutes checked and it was a false alarm and carried on witht the class.
(City and Company withheld to prevent embarrasment)
Toydriver

 

[rick521]

Two different times I have been in motel/hotel when fire alarm went off. Both times the management advised that I should remain in our room, as they did not believe there was a problem. Both times I heard fire department being dispatched, so I went to the lobby. Both time fire units arrived and checked. Once no fire, the other time small fire, handle by hotel maintenance. Be safe, take care of yourself.

 

[JamesO]

It is rather fuzzy if there are actually state or local laws that REQUIRE evacuation of a facility when a fire alarm is sounded. I am sure some areas have specific laws. It may even be a violation in some areas if a facility is not evacuated during a fire alarm.

That being said, many larger facilities such as schools, hospitals, office buildings, shopping malls and public facilities probably have fire safety plans with specific evacuation requirements (regardless of the absence of local laws and fire safety codes).

If you are in a situation where someone in a higher position is questioning
whether you should be evacuating or not, I would contact the buildings facilities management department and inquire if they have a fire safety plan and obtain a copy for review by yourself and staff members in your area. Additionally it should probably be posted as well.

Also check with the local Fire Marshall's office as well. This office can verify if there are specific codes, laws and requirements regarding building evacuation during an alarm.

I have been in many situations where an alarm has sounded and the personnel in the build are required to evacuate. Typically only the fire department can reset the alarm system and they will not usually reset it until the fire department has arrived on the scene, inspected the facility and it has been deemed safe to re-occupy the facility.

I tend to error on the side of caution. Yes, false alarms do happen, but as alarms sound so infrequently these days, it is probably best to proceed as if it is a real alarm. This actually gives staff in large facilities experience on how to react and what to do when an alarm sounds. It is rather foolish and unsafe to wholesale discount all alarms as "false".

A little exercise never hurts!

JamesO

 

[SPERT20906]

It is rather fuzzy if there are actually state or local laws that REQUIRE evacuation of a facility when a fire alarm is sounded. I am sure some areas have specific laws. It may even be a violation in some areas if a facility is not evacuated during a fire alarm.

That being said, many larger facilities such as schools, hospitals, office buildings, shopping malls and public facilities probably have fire safety plans with specific evacuation requirements (regardless of the absence of local laws and fire safety codes).

If you are in a situation where someone in a higher position is questioning
whether you should be evacuating or not, I would contact the buildings facilities management department and inquire if they have a fire safety plan and obtain a copy for review by yourself and staff members in your area. Additionally it should probably be posted as well.

Also check with the local Fire Marshall's office as well. This office can verify if there are specific codes, laws and requirements regarding building evacuation during an alarm.

I have been in many situations where an alarm has sounded and the personnel in the build are required to evacuate. Typically only the fire department can reset the alarm system and they will not usually reset it until the fire department has arrived on the scene, inspected the facility and it has been deemed safe to re-occupy the facility.

I tend to error on the side of caution. Yes, false alarms do happen, but as alarms sound so infrequently these days, it is probably best to proceed as if it is a real alarm. This actually gives staff in large facilities experience on how to react and what to do when an alarm sounds. It is rather foolish and unsafe to wholesale discount all alarms as "false".

A little exercise never hurts!

JamesO

Thanks a lot!!!!!!!!!

 

[colheli]

Typically only the fire department can reset the alarm system and they will not usually reset it until the fire department has arrived on the scene, inspected the facility and it has been deemed safe to re-occupy the facility.
JamesO

I don't know if you are speaking in the physical sense of resetting the panel, or in the legal sense. But, just about every fire alarm I have ever seen: Anyone can physically reset the system. It is usually just one "reset" button on the front of the panel. The thing is: If someone resets the panel, and a device is still in alarm, then the panel will initiate the alarm again, as soon as it finishes resetting. Some systems will not even let the panel reset, if there is a device in alarm. In that sense, the average Joe would not be able to reset the system, as they would have no knowledge of how to disable that device, so that the panel didn't see it's alarm.