Testing the response times
One should always be prepared. We have a whole youth movement based on the idea. Sometimes a great notion has to be tested, and today I went through a good old-fashioned, count the seconds situation: the fire drill.
My office building has an alarm system for such incidents, but we’ve never had a test in all my time on staff. Sometimes the bell rings when the company responsible for maintenance is doing, well, maintenance, but we’re always warned and we do what good cubicle dwellers do: we ignore.
Today, my professional responsibilities took me into a traditional school, on the day where a test was “in the air”. I knew beforehand, because the director had taken the time to fill me in. When the bell rings, it will be a drill, and you all should exit the room and the building, in that order. I was “teaching” a group of “teachers”, so I figured we could probably play along in the simulation.
Faint bells, ringing as if the dose of tranquilizers had just hit. Ring, pause, ring, pause, ring. Repeat as needed. We closed the windows, closed the lights, closed the door (after an orderly exit, in a single file because we’re all too big to walk side by each). Down the hall, down the stairs, join the orderly stampede. This is a centre that has an “older clientele”, so discipline is not an issue.
And outside, to one of the most glorious days we’ve had in months. A light breeze, full sunlight, the thermometer up around 23C (completely out of kilter for this time of year). No sign of smoke or flame (this was a drill, after all). Like students everywhere, we openly dared each other to play hookey, since we were already outside and there were no chains to keep us in place.
And then, like responsible adults, we turned and returned to our designated classroom, because that’s what we do. This was a drill, and we had no reason to break with the pattern. We had proven that the building could be cleared if ever the need arose.
