Please Practice Your Candidacy for a Darwin Award ELSEWHERE!

[Heksubah]

The building I work in is downtown in a metropolitan area and is old and has its charm and rickety nature. They've been doing construction recently that keeps setting off the fire alarm to the point that we joke that if a real alarm hit we'd all die because no one would bat a lash. Recently the water main went tits up and they've been doing construction on it and redirecting the flow of traffic for about three weeks now.

Today the construction crew decided to get inventive. They thought (or so I surmise) that jackhammering into a gas main would be fun for all. Imagine our surprise to suddenly hear a horrifically loud wooshing sound, the smell of rotten eggs, and to have people running around screeching about a gas leak just before the alarm went off.

Our whole building (and several other large buildings nearby) were evacuated a few blocks away to sit for two hours while the fire department and city utility crews fixed things. Now, I sat near to the spot that we were not supposed to cross because there was a planter I could sit on. I have a bad back and couldn't keep standing for long. At the very edge of the street sat all the guys from a little lunch shop nearby... and several of them proceeded to smoke on the bare edge of where the fire department had pushed us to.

I don't know about you, but who on earth thinks it is wise to smoke during a gas leak? Especially one that has shut off several blocks downtown? Argh!

Oh, and best of all... not long after a police officer joined the fireman that was redirecting traffic even closer to the leak and sat there on his motorcycle and lit up. *headdesk*

[Pixilated]

Proof that 50% of all professionals -- including police -- graduated in the bottom half of their class ...

It'd be nice to think he got a serious blast from somebody above him soon afterwards.

And did anybody go tell the guys from the lunch shop to butt out??

[bainsidhe]

I only wish this were uncommon. Last year our building had a leak (phone company hit the gas line in front of the building) and we evacuated to our sister company across the parking lot. First thing a handful of workers do? Light up outside the 2nd building, even while folks are still being evacuated. I might add, this is before a crew arrived and we knew the full extent of the leak.

[Marmalady]

*nods* A similar thing happened once at Huge Insurance Company and our two tower blocks were evacuated. There's the happy band of smokers, puffing away at the bottom of the slope, when the fire chief arrived.

Have you ever seen a man's face go actually INDIGO with fury?

[Merriweather]

Quoth Pixilated

Proof that 50% of all professionals -- including police -- graduated in the bottom half of their class ...

Love that

But did you also know that 37% of all statistics are made up


Sorry, couldn't resist

[dalesys]

Quoth Merriweather

But did you also know that 37.5% of all statistics are made up

That's the Law of Three Ates: Will they swallow this one?

[Sunshine]

We had a pretty bad series of grassfires here awhile back...they evacuated the c-store i was employed at. When we got the go ahead to come back, there were customers in the store!

[Heksubah]

Quoth Pixilated

And did anybody go tell the guys from the lunch shop to butt out??

No, no one did. We were a ways down the block from them but close enough to see it. That and the fact that there was a cop at the same intersection smoking as well made it kinda hard to go point out their little flaw.

[PepperElf]

i'm thinking the navy found this out the hard way. they have an escape device called an EEBD - emergency escape breathing device. It's a plastic hood you toss on that has an O2-generating device on it... so you can get from your work center or your rack to the outdoors without smoke inhalation damage.

The warnings on it advise that you do not light up a cigarette for 15 minutes after you use it. Cos hey that's what everyone does right? Get outside and light up.

Although it could serve as a warning to not fight the fire right away too but... it really did specify cigarettes.


i'm just wondering who was the screaming alpha that learned this one the hard way?

[sms001]

Quoth PepperElf

has an O2-generating device on it...
do not light up a cigarette for 15 minutes after you use it

Must admit it took me a second or two to figure this one out. uh, yeah, oxygen and fire don't mix.

Quoth PepperElf

i'm just wondering who was the screaming alpha that learned this one the hard way?

Love this.