Fire Fire

[uknz76]

We had a fire alarm a couple of weeks ago, no big deal just another false alarm. In fact it's been a while since we had a real one (Karma is so going to get me for writing that).
Anyway.....
Does anyone else get really peeved when customers keep trying to get into the store while the alarm is going off? And what about those idiots who don't want to leave "But I've been in here for 30 mins I just want to pay for this now"

My opinion - Let 'em burn.

[Kara]

We had a Tornado not far from us when I worked at Circuit City. It was the new Sales manager's first night closing by himself, and we luckily didn't have a lot of customers since A)the weather was really bad, and B) it was sunday evening. A few of us went outside to watch the cloud rotations above and then a short while later we were standing around near the front. One of our trash cans (those big plastic ones that sit outside the store) blew across the doors and out of sight. The manager looked at us and said "I wonder if we should try to get the customers out of here." Not a minute later, the same trash can passed the doors from the other direction, this time in a spiral and floating 2 feet off the ground. We decided it would be good to do something other than stand around and die, so we went to the break room, which was our designated Tornado shelter. I wasn't keen on dying in a room full of customers, but I figured I could probably club one or two of them with a keyboard from the training room in the chaos that would erupt if a tornado did hit and use them as human shields if the place started to collapse.

Oddly enough, most of them complained about being moved to safety and though they didn't exactly become angry, they did complain the whole time about us keeping them in there. Finally the manager told them that if they really wanted to leave, they could. A few did, but it wasn't much after that things calmed down anyway and we released our captives.

[BookstoreEscapee]

The alarm company tests the alarms monthly and one time in Store1 the alarm went off while the guy was testing it, and he couldn't get it to shut off. This was a loud, somewhat high-pitched, continuous ring type of alarm. The speaker at the cashwrap was right above my head. It went off for an hour before they finally got it to turn off. Did the customers understand the concept of technical difficulties and leave quietly? Of course not. One lady complained because she had an infant with her and my baby's little ears! before she came up and paid for her stuff before she left the store. And several other people just had to buy stuff instead of come back later. And did my coworkers help me ring these people up so we could all get away from the infernal noise? NO! They all went outside and left me there alone! Did I mention that I had hearing loss as a teenager and had ear tubes at age 15 and have had tinnitis ever since? That noise did not help.

(no I was not stuck there for an hour, maybe ten minutes and then I went outside with everyone else and we turned any customers away.)

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Story time:

This happened almost 20 years ago. My mom once worked at the same store I currently do. It's attached to a strip mall. There was an electrical short in one of the signs for one of the stores, and it started the strip mall on fire. The fire started in the ceiling and since there were no fire breaks in the ceilings when the mall was built, the fire spread quickly.

Our store was protected by a fire door, but everybody was still ordered to evacuate. My mom was working and she said some of the customers didn't want to leave and insisted on completing their transactions before leaving. Hello, the strip mall right next to us is becoming engulfed in flames here!

Other than a little smoke and water damaged merchandise, the store ended up okay but the mall was pretty much toasted.

[blas]

There was a huge storm last fall and lightning struck and the lights flickered and ALL of the alarms on ALL of the mahcines went off at once. Then the vauums inside the machines failed and all the glass dropped.

We have monthly tornado and fire alarms for drills

[powerboy]

About 7 years ago. When I was working at Walmart. For some reason, the power went out. And ofcourse, we had people trying to get in, and other people not understand to get the hell out.

[Rolling Star]

People need to get their priorities in order. What's more important, their lives or their crappy merchandise? >_>

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Christmas 2005 I was doing seasonal work for a big catalog company, taking orders over the phone in a huge call center on the second floor. The alarms went off while I had this hellatious SC on the phone. She refused to get off the phone! My trainer Pam was there and she was hustling everyone out of the building---she hollered at me and I told her I was being threatened by a woman on the phone. She yelled 'SCREW HER!! GET OUT OF THE BUILDING NOW!!!' And I dropped my headset like a hot potato and ran.

The woman called back immediately but couldn't get through to the main operators, because DUM DUM DUM they were all outside! We were out there for a good half an hour or so. Later Pam pulled me aside and spoke to me about it. She was laughing her ass off. The woman had finally gotten to someone, and had my ID number and complained to hell and back about me and Pam, who she had overheard yelling. They let Pam call her back. Pam was very sweet but you did not mess with that woman. Pam assured me I was not in any trouble and according to another supervisor who overheard Pam talking to the woman, That SC got a rear-end reaming like she'd never had before.

[Gravekeeper]

At my old office we had the opposite problem. The fire alarm would go off in the building and management would come back and tell us "Don't worry about it, just keep taking calls". Mhmmkay. ><

[Retail Associate]

At my store we have fire drills over the intercom every now and then. The code word for a fire is Dept 50, I think. I'm not sure because I really couldn't care less.

So, if we hear "Dept 50 to paint" (or wherever) three times, we're actually expected to grab a fire extinquisher and go try to keep a fire from getting out of control.

Yeah, like that will ever happen.

[Sliceanddice]

We had a fire alarm a couple of weeks ago, no big deal just another false alarm. In fact it's been a while since we had a real one (Karma is so going to get me for writing that).
Anyway.....

My opinion - Let 'em burn.

Actually its Murphys law.

and wooohooo SC roast

[Purple Monkey Dishwasher]

About 15 years ago, I was working at 7-11. Just minding my own business, selling some old biddy some lottery tickets, when the front doors just ASPLODED. A car had crashed through the doors, sending glass and mdse everywhere. We got the place secured, called the cops, etc., but as we are dealing with the whole thing, mudda fukkas are literally climbing over the car to get into the store, stepping over and into piles of twisted metal and broken glass. I have never been as FORCEFUL with my voice while working as I was that day. I was truly YELLING at people to get the hell back!!

People are just...

I do not get them, man...

Joe

[lordlundar]

So, if we hear "Dept 50 to paint" (or wherever) three times, we're actually expected to grab a fire extinquisher and go try to keep a fire from getting out of control.

Yeah, like that will ever happen.

Yeah, I told my manager that if there was a fire in the store, there was only one direction I was headed, and it isn't in the direction of the fire.

And not quite disaster, but related. I was in the warehouse talking to a sup and sorting some stuff when we heard this loud clang then a whoosh of air. We look over and there's this yellow cloud growing very fast. We bail to the door and close it behind us. The cloud extended to about 4 feet past the door and the main area of the warehouse was filled.

Turns out, a fire extinguisher fell and broke. It's an ABC powder (chalk dust basically) extinguisher so there was no huge danger, but the cleanup went on for weeks.

[Seshat]

At my old office we had the opposite problem. The fire alarm would go off in the building and management would come back and tell us "Don't worry about it, just keep taking calls". Mhmmkay. ><

I once worked in a school, in the administration building. One day I was speaking to one of the senior teachers, and asked about fire drills. She told me 'oh, we've had 3 bomb threats so far this semester, we've practiced evacuating enough.'

She was horrified when I pointed out that none of us in administration had been evacuated - and I hadn't even known of the threat.

We were in the building most likely to be bombed!

[ChelsieFrank]

(First post)

One of my managers used to work at a Mc D's in *Town name removed because I now live there*. Once, they had their Drive-Thru order box Catch Fire. It was burning, visible Flames! The managers of course rushed out to try to put it out with water and while they were trying to put it out, you guessed it:

Customers came through and tried to order! From the Drive-Thru. As it was burning!

A year or so ago, we had a massive flood. The store had to be checked to make sure it didn't go splodey when we turned it on. Our stockroom had three inches of water. All the roads were closed. They called me in to help clean up. I had to be ferried across a flooded road by my manager in his giant SUV.

Somehow, people still came to bash on our doors and ask for food. I still don't know how they got there since the streets were barricaded.