Last night after water aerobics, as we were changing back into our civies, the fire alarm went off. It’s one of those new-fangled fire alarms; I call them the migraine-seizure-inducing fire alarm with the high pitched ring that makes your brain melt and the flashing white lights that are timed just perfectly to trigger a migraine and almost trigger a seizure.
Let me set the stage, there were about 15 of us — it was a small class due to the holiday tomorrow. At 36 years old, I’m the youngest. Most of the class qualifies for the senior citizen discount rate. Pretty much everyone was in a state of undress, most had pealed off their swimsuits and were in the shower stalls. When the fire alarm went off, they’re really lucky none of those ladies had a heart attack right there.
Suddenly there’s all this panic as everyone was trying to get into some state of decency to evacuate the building and it didn’t help that this stereotypical-looking gym coach woman came into the locker room and started barking orders for people to get out right now. I was like “What the hell? Do they want these old ladies to go out in the freezing cold naked?”
As it is NG ended up outside where it had snowed earlier that day with no shoes on and wet hair. We quickly got her in shoes and a hat. Oy. There were a bunch of teenaged boys standing around gawking when we rushed out too. I guess the little kids in the swimming pool had gone out another door. The school itself where the pool and other after-hour extracurricular activities did not appear to be on fire or smoking or anything. There was a fire truck there, I noted as I drove away.
So, I’m wondering what the policy is or at least what you would do if it were you in the public shower when the fire alarm went off. Would you take the time to put on enough clothes to be covered or would you run out into the chaos and crowd in your birthday suit?
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Yikes…
Unless I saw actual flames, I’d definitely risk getting toasted and put some clothes on first. If there was a real fire inside the room I suppose I’d be willing to run out in a towel, but only if they were seriously nipping at my toes.
I think the shower and the swimming pool would be rather safe places with all the water, ya know?
I won’t even leave my own bathroom naked to walk into the bedroom…I can’t even imagine being forced to leave a burning building without clothes! It would definitely have to be a life or death situation.
When I recounted the tale to my mother, she said that the law states that you have to exit the building as you are immediately. However, unless she smelled smoke, she would get dressed.
Those kids at that school certainly would have gotten an education that night and then the religious right would have more to talk to the school board about than whether or not the health center should carry birth control. hmph!
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