isn't it about... time?

I've worked at the library for 3 years now. I've spent countless hours studying in the library, sleeping in the library, working in the library, even eating in the library. One might say that some days i live at the library. That being said, in my 3 years i have NEVER experienced a library fire alarm. shocking, i know. some of my co workers have "lived through" over 10. and me... zero. Until today. My dance class got out early (we had a test, and i tested second and got to leave) so naturally, i migrated to the library. The rest of the story is pretty boring. The alarm went off, blaring loudly in my ears, we walked outside through the special emergency exit (i HAD been out this exit before when we were trained) and waited in the hot sun for the ringing to stop. As an employee, i got to enter back into the library through the secret exit and go back to work. terribly exciting. okay, not really, but now at least i can say i've experienced one!




As with all good life changing experiences, todays events got me thinking. Be prepared these are profound thoughts:

1.) why does the alarm have to be so loud? OW. nuff said

2.) what happens to people who can't use stairs? you are not supposed to use a elevator during a fire alarm. Where i work, on the second floor, there were many older patrons in the area for a family history conference. Convincing them all to go out the stairs and not back to the elevator was tricky. Luckily they all made it. But seriously, what if someone couldn't walk up the stairs? I've seen little contraptions to help people get down stairs, but what about up??

3.) how often am i aware of the closest emergency exit? the library is HUGE and as we all know, there is only one main entrance. In the event of a fire, there are multiple "hidden" exits that are available. Luckily i know about them since i work here, but what if i was unfamiliar with the layout. what would i do? I would burn to death. so, from now on, i am going to find the emergency exit prior to sitting down.

4.) why don't some people listen? there was a girl waiting outside the classroom when i got back to work after the alarm. my boss asked her "did you not leave the library?" She said no. WHAT? what do you mean you didn't leave the library? she explained that they were in the maps section when the doors closed and no one moved. The announcement came on the loud speaker for everyone to evacuate and yet, no one moved. Seriously, what if there really was a fire? Unlikely.. yes. but possible. Maybe they didn't know where to go, maybe peer pressure made it easier to stay, but maybe next time the won't be as lucky. On a similar note, a month or so ago i was sitting in the library when an announcement came on that said to evacuate the library. again, no one moved. There was no fire alarm and no apparent reason to leave. So we didn't. It ended up being a mistake, but we all sat there for 5 minutes until they finally told us we did NOT have to leave the building. When should we follow directions and when should we ignore them? I don't have an easy answer.