ORIGINAL COMPOSE DATE: 04 October 2006
Today there was a fire in my hotel. A contractor was soldering and caught some material close by on fire. He pulled the fire alarm and extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher that he had on him (bravo to the contractor for practicing fire safety when soldering).
During the last month and a half, this was the fifth time that I have been driven outside by fire alarms in hotels. Three of them were false alarms and two were actual fires (both put out before they could do any major damage).
What struck me during these alarms and the evacuation of the hotel was the nonchalant attitude of most of the guests.
Many guests never evacuated. During one of the fires in Vineland, New Jersey, my two coworkers never exited the building and continued to sleep while the fire fighters entered the building and extinguished the small fire in the laundry room (someone forgot to empty out the filter in the dryer).
Ten minutes after the fire alarms were sounded people were still walking out. One woman made a comment about how she needed to put makeup on. Another woman made a comment about having to change into decent clothes before she headed down the stairs.
Several business men were gathered together with all of their laptop bags and briefcases. They took over five minutes gathering all of their business items before they finally evacuated.
Having seen the wrath of fire in both my civilian and military life, I am not one to take alarms nonchalantly. I am not going to die in a hotel fire while looking for my best pair of jeans and a decent shirt. If I have to run outside in my underwear, then so be it.
While my laptop contains my life (photos, web pages, banking accounts, articles, and my book) I would never risk my life to save it. If I can grab it quickly on the way out, then so be it.
What is it that causes most people to ignore warnings? Why do most people walk casually as if this is just “another stupid drill?” Are people still warped from all the fire drills we conducted in school that the sound of fire alarms still rings of drills instead of the real thing?
Why do most people go out the front door of the hotel through the lobby? There are exits everywhere and many of them much closer to your room. Why are people such creatures of habit with a desire to exit the way they came in?
That behavior killed a lot of people at the club fire in Rhode Island and it has killed thousands more in other disasters and emergencies. Watching hotel fires on television it is amazing how fast they spread when not put out immediately. Evacuation has to begin immediately – not after you found your best clothing, secured your brief case, and put makeup on.
Common sense people… it will save your life one day.
J.D. said,
April 11, 2007 at 12:13 pm
I am originally from Northeast Alabama but have resided in Nashville for almost 11 years now. I am new to the blogosphere and wordpress. When I saw your blog my attention was captured immediately. How surprised I was to learn that you are an atheist. I am a Christian and am wondering why there is a need for atheists to organize and have meetings. I am not being facetious. Why is it important to have meetings? How big can an atheist or agnostic’s belief system be?
nalrant said,
April 11, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Atheists and agnostics do not have belief systems. Atheism is nothing more than the lack of belief in gods. Each of has our own outlook on life, our own conclusions and convictions, ideals, philosophy, etc.
We have groups so that we can enjoy each other’s company and make friends. We have groups to help organize to ensure our civil rights, which are often violated in a country leaning toward theocracy recently. We have groups to help maintain the constitution and religious freedom (yes, even yours).
J.D. said,
April 26, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Of course I disagree with everything you say but I appreciate the way you express yourself with class.
J.D. said,
April 28, 2007 at 9:30 pm
What does an atheist, or rather how, do you teach your children about simple morality such as lying and stealing etc.?
nalrant said,
April 28, 2007 at 10:13 pm
I teach them the negative consequences of their actions and to take responsibility for their own actions. Stealing does not serve themselves or the species. If everyone ran around stealing all the time, then no one would hold onto anything and the society would not flourish. It serves the species, the self, and the society to not steal. The same goes for murder. If I murder you, then I make enemies of your family and allies, which makes it harder for me to survive. The survival of the species of a whole, the self, and the society, rely on civility. Genetic and ingrained morality, often called altruism, is apparent and inherent in many species, so it is with no surprise that it is within the human genome as well.