37 flights of stairs....

[cindybubbles]

<bg>I used to work on the 37th floor (!important) as a contractor for a major Canadian bank. I worked on their internal websites and sent out newsletters to their distribution lists. It was six to seven months of pure hell that even made me cry three times in a single day. However, I'm glad to be out of it now.</bg>

Anyway, I remember one time back in 2006, when I heard a fire alarm inside one of the bank's buildings. Remember that I worked on the 37th floor. This is important.

The procedure is for us to go down the stairs, as only those who used wheelchairs or scooters were allowed to use the elevators. Now, I hope you remembered that I worked on the 37th floor. You did? Good.

Because I had to walk down 37 FLIGHTS OF STAIRS! 37. FLIGHTS. OF. STAIRS. It seemed like a neverending nightmare!

By the time I got down to the first floor, my legs were like jelly. I still remember this event to this day.

I'm glad that I don't work for a company that's located on a level that high anymore!

BTW, what are YOUR personal fire safety drill horror stories?

[Zellie Crescent]

I hope you didn't have to do it in heels.

[AccountingDrone]

if they tried to make me [when I am on crutches] use stairs, I would walk down them, out the door, and to my car where I would go to the local labor board and get them slammed.

The idiots need to know that not all people who are handicapped are in wheelchairs. Bad knees don't always put you into a scooter immediately.

[MoonCat]

We had fire drill last summer at work. Had to go down four double sets of stairs. Not too big a deal, really.

Except that when we got to the bottom, we couldn't get the door open to get outside. We had to go back up to the 2nd floor and take an alternate route. Good thing it wasn't a real fire.

Soon as I got back to my desk I emailed the manager. To her credit, she got it taken care of right away. Apparently the door was just stuck, not locked.

[Teskeria]

I am physically handicapped. I can walk, but with a cane and only for short periods of time. When we had a fire alarm go off (not a known drill-bldg management didn't like to let occupants know about drills in advance), I had to go down 6 flights of stairs. One of the managers stayed right behind me. I really felt bad for her as it took me more than 20 minutes to get down those stairs. After that, they made sure they knew when a drill was going to happen (building management cooperated when they explained the issue and only notified the owner) and had me sit down on the first floor out of site from about 10 minutes prior (on the clock) just to be sure we avoided that issue on all future drills. The management actually checked every floor fully before letting people back in.

[cindybubbles]

I'm pretty sure that if you can't go down a flight of stairs unaided in an everyday situation, they may let you use the elevator. I'm pretty sure that they would, but it would depend on your situation. I should have clarified that in my first post; I was just ranting there, and I'm sorry.

What's worse happened at my next job. I worked at a company that helped people with disabilities find jobs and employers find accommodations for employees with disabilities. Our building was, to my knowledge, fully accessible except for one problem.

We had a fire drill. When I heard it, I touched my fire buddy on the shoulder (our staff had people with disabilities, so we made sure to buddy up during a fire drill) and fingerspelled "A-L-A-R-M" for her. As we proceeded down the stairs, I heard this exchange between my wheelchair-using colleagues:

CW1: The elevators aren't working
CW2: That's right, they don't work during a fire alarm. So what happens is that you and I will go to one of the offices and signal the fire department for help.

Basically, because my colleagues could not use the stairs, even with crutches, they were to go to one of the offices with a window, close the door (I think), open a window and signal the fire department to come fetch them. Our president was so mad that she lamblasted the building about this policy!

Fortunately, they moved to a more accessible building downtown.

[wolfie]

The procedure is for us to go down the stairs, as only those who used wheelchairs or scooters were allowed to use the elevators.

if they tried to make me [when I am on crutches] use stairs, I would walk down them, out the door, and to my car where I would go to the local labor board and get them slammed.

The idiots need to know that not all people who are handicapped are in wheelchairs. Bad knees don't always put you into a scooter immediately.

Actually, they shouldn't have allowed ANYONE to use the elevator during a fire drill, since during a real fire the elevator is a VERY bad place to be. If someone is mobility-impaired, alternate provisions need to be made (e.g. designate a couple of husky co-workers to carry them down the stairs).

I am physically handicapped. I can walk, but with a cane and only for short periods of time. When we had a fire alarm go off (not a known drill-bldg management didn't like to let occupants know about drills in advance), I had to go down 6 flights of stairs. One of the managers stayed right behind me. I really felt bad for her as it took me more than 20 minutes to get down those stairs. After that, they made sure they knew when a drill was going to happen (building management cooperated when they explained the issue and only notified the owner) and had me sit down on the first floor out of site from about 10 minutes prior (on the clock) just to be sure we avoided that issue on all future drills. The management actually checked every floor fully before letting people back in.

Bad planning by management - a fire drill is supposed to be a practice evacuation. Rather than practice evacuating someone with impaired mobility, they "pencil whipped" things by faking a "mobility-impaired person isn't in today" situation. How would things go in a real fire?

We had a fire drill. When I heard it, I touched my fire buddy on the shoulder (our staff had people with disabilities, so we made sure to buddy up during a fire drill) and fingerspelled "A-L-A-R-M" for her. As we proceeded down the stairs, I heard this exchange between my wheelchair-using colleagues:

CW1: The elevators aren't working
CW2: That's right, they don't work during a fire alarm. So what happens is that you and I will go to one of the offices and signal the fire department for help.

Basically, because my colleagues could not use the stairs, even with crutches, they were to go to one of the offices with a window, close the door (I think), open a window and signal the fire department to come fetch them. Our president was so mad that she lamblasted the building about this policy!

Clone that manager! Not only did they keep people out of elevators (a.k.a. "real fire death traps" during the drill, but they had a way of notifying people who couldn't hear the alarm, and they practiced an alternate rescue method (i.e. get to a safe area and let the professionals handle it) for people who couldn't use the stairs.

[bainsidhe]

Once a year or so, our company has a fire drill where everyone practices evacuation and "group leaders" (volunteers for each department/floor) do a head count to make sure everyone's accounted for. Last summer, a piece of equipment set off a fire alarm and the building evacuated. Or should I say, about 1/3 of the building. Management wasn't expecting a drill and since some departments figured it was a false alarm, most people just ignored it.

[csquared]

While 37 flights of stairs may have seemed like a pain to you. It could have been worse. What if you were on th 90th floor? And four floors worth of emergency stairs were missing between you and the ground? Makes you wish you had 37 flights of stairs to go down.

And think about the firemen who were climbing UP those stairs, in full gear. Most of them did not get the chance to walk back down.

I only had to walk down 25 flights of stairs that day. I then walked about 12 miles around the city trying to find a hotel for the night (fashion week. Every hotel was full).

I think you were pretty lucky. It was only a fire drill.

[Gizmo]

This just makes me want to design a building that has a huge slide at one end for fire evacuations...

[Aria]

That sucks, but it's hard to see what else they could have done. I'm told you can never use the elevator in a fire, it's like a chimney... with anyone in the car being the marshmellow about to catch fire.

This bank wasn't the one that likes the color burgandy, was it? I'm just wondering since that's where my dad works.

[Peppergirl]

Folks, its not up to you to judge what you think is sucky or not, or to judge or berate the OP. She's venting and that's what we're about here.

This is the second time in as many days that I've had to post something like this.

Stop it.

[cinema guy]

In the event of a fire at the cinema where wheelchair users can't evacuate, they have to remain in place. In theory the doors are fireproof for 30 minutes - which is enough time for the fire brigade to evacuate them.

[cindybubbles]

Folks, its not up to you to judge what you think is sucky or not, or to judge or berate the OP. She's venting and that's what we're about here.

This is the second time in as many days that I've had to post something like this.

Stop it.

Thank you, Peppergirl.

As for the others, I'm sure that the main reason, if not one of the main reasons, for not using elevators during a fire is that if everyone does, the elevator will be crammed with people. The cable will snap, and the elevator will fall, killing or injuring everyone inside. Also, waiting for the elevator can be dangerous, so leave it for those people who REALLY NEED it. It's the only explanation that I can give to you concerning how I got to see my scooter-using colleague on the ground floor after I had descended those 37 flights of stairs.

I've also heard that firefighters use the elevator, too, especially in fires inside high-rise buildings, if only to help carry the stuff that they need to fight the fires and save the people trapped inside.

[Chromatix]

There are I think two primary reasons for not using the elevators lifts during a fire alarm:

1) The lifts won't have enough capacity to evacuate the entire building in time. Normal use will fill and empty the building over the course of several hours, but you might have only several *minutes* to evacuate. Stairs can deal with many more people in a short period of time, even though it's a royal pain for each individual involved. Personally I think this is a major and fundamental problem with skyscrapers in general.

2) If the fire reaches the lift machinery or cuts the power supply while the lift is in motion, it will shut down then and there. The failsafe brakes will engage (they and the cables are, BTW, able to cope with even a crush-loaded lift) and, more likely than not, you will end up between floors. You are then a sitting duck, unable to escape if the fire then reaches you (burning bits of machinery falling from on high?) until the firemen realise you're in there. This is a major reason why many lifts automatically travel to ground level, open the doors and stay there when the alarm sounds.

FWIW, if a lift shaft is a chimney, then a stairwell is just as much of one. Consider that particular myth busted.

There are several possible strategies for dealing with mobility-impaired evacuees. One of them is to use a moderately fireproof room with a big opening window as a rendezvous, as described above. Another is to provide assistance with getting down the stairs, often involving strong buddies and special equipment (such as a stretcher or litter or sling, or something resembling a toboggan). The prospect of requiring 20 minutes to evacuate without assistance is not acceptable.