Prank…or Terrorism?…Part One
If you were at the Romance Writers of America recent national conference you know that one of the days the fire alarm in our hotel was activated. Most of us were in workshops expanding our minds and gaining valuable writing knowledge.
In the workshop I was in, the alarm sounded and the speaker stopped speaking and we all kind of looked around in bewilderment. Was there a fire? Was this a fire drill? An alarm malfunction? Along with the alarm and flashing lights a pre-recorded voice advised guests to “leave the building now.”
I was somewhat surprised by that directive. My experience with similar alarms has been that the canned voice usually announces that the alarm activation was being investigated and further instructions would soon be issued. But not on this day. The voice to said get out of the building.
That was when “cop-mode” kicked in. Seeing a sign for an exit directly behind the stage where the speaker was standing, I moved in that direction. However, when I was able to clearly see the exit doors, I quickly realized that the stage floor was about three feet above the ground and many of the women in the group would have a problem climbing down off the platform without injury. So I directed everyone to exit the room from the entry doors and made sure we all got out of the room. (I was the bossy redhead wearing a white jacket).
As we exited the room there were a number of Marriott security officers advising the flood of women to exit the building. But then another security officer came dashing by yelling, “False alarm! False alarm!” So we started moving back into the workshop classroom…until even more security officers arrived in the area. Once again we were directed to leave the building.
Frustrated by the ever-changing instructions, I made the decision I was going to get out of the building and directed other women to follow. Most of the women in the hallway and pouring from workshop rooms and headed toward the nearby escalators. I deliberately avoided the escalators and elevators. Walking across the hallway I chose a different exit that led to an exhibition-size hall and then some other doors that appeared, from my estimation, to lead to the outer perimeter of the building. Our group was small - maybe fifteen or so women. The rest had flocked to the escalators. When the we reached the second set of doors that I’d thought would lead outside, we were confronted with a tall set of stairs that led to doors that opened to the outside. One woman who saw the stairwell uttered words to the effect of “No flippin’ way,” and turned around to find another exit out of the building. The remainder of our group climbed the stairs which took us to the loading ramp and to the driveway of the hotel to relative safety.
So what’s the point of this blog? I want to tell you what was going through my mind during this event. When the fire alarm first activated, I thought the natural thing…possible fire. But as we all made our way to the hallway and I saw the huge mass of people waiting to ride the escalator to the lobby level I suddenly remember the news report I’d seen that very morning about two Marriott hotels in Jakarta being blown up by suicide bombers. My knowledge and training dictated that I not “go the normal route”, just in case this was a terrorist attack. If that was the case, where do you think an explosive device might have been left to detonate to harm the most people? Perhaps near the escalators? I was also concerned where any secondary devices might be placed. I also wondered if our group, because we write about romance and sex and our heroines are smart, strong women, would be attractive to someone desiring to make a point to the United States.
Now while my mind works by thinking of worst-case scenarios, that isn’t the way most people think. Without further evidence that the event was nothing more than it appeared - someone activating the fire alarm - it would have done me no good to start shouting my thoughts to the hundreds of women in my vicinity. In fact, it could have caused panic and possibly injuries. So my decision was to get as many people as I could out of the building safely by the quickest and best route I could find, and that’s what I did.
I later learned that the day before, the over-flow hotel, the Omni, had also had a similar occurrance with a fire alarm activation. Which makes me wonder if perhaps this was a “test run” by someone studying the response of guests and emergency responders to an emergency in an American hotel.
I’m not writing this post to scare you. I’m writing it so that if you are faced with a similar situation you will think ”outside the envelope” and do your best to keep yourself safe.
One final thought…If this had been a real emergency I would have been a lot more assertive in my directions and there is no way I would let anyone who was within sight of an exit door go back inside the building to find another exit. One way or another I would get you up those stairs and out of that building.
Watch for Part Two of this blog within the next several days.
Until next time…
KMA367
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:43 am
What some authors won’t do to test the material. =)
Actually I want to say I appreciate this. In this day and age we cannot be too careful.
Thanks again.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:56 am
Kathy, it always amazes me how people don’t react to fire alarms in public places. I was once in a restaurant 2 floors up in a large mall type building when a fire alarm went off. No one moved. No one even seemed concerned except one of my dining partners and me. We didn’t leave. STUPID. It turned out to be a significant kitchen fire that the staff did control without incident, but what if they hadn’t? What if all of us tried to get out at the same time because the building was on fire? I won’t do that again.
I have mobility issues and your story is even more scary in light of all the barriers you encountered trying to leave the building. Glad it turned out to be nothing but a false alarm. (And thanks for having my back if I needed help *g*)
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
While it might have been overreaction in this instance, I want to be near you should I ever be in this situation. I wouldn’t have gone to the elevator or escalator (earthquake training) but it would never had occurred to me that it could have been an act of terror. I’ll think more broadly in the future!
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Kathy, I think it’s always best to assume the worst (I’m married to a cop - LOL). Many people in the Twin Towers were told after the first plane hit that they did not need to evacuate the building. You just never know…
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I’m so glad you’ve decided to discuss this. Americans have become complacent and, in some cases, downright arrogant/contemptuous of the possibility we will experience more attacks here. I teach preparedness and people scoff at some of the threats we discuss (though from the emails I’m receiving these days, they’re revisiting their reactions about the economic downturn issues we discussed).
I look at things like this as I do insurance. We all buy insurance. We pay a fortune for it. Home insurance. Car insurance. Theft insurance. Liability insurance. We may never call upon our insurance companies to make good on the coverage promises embodied in those policies. Yet we still buy the policies. Why? Risk mitigation. And that’s what you were doing that day. Mitigating risk.
I’m disabled, but had I confronted that long flight of stairs, I’d have simply shoved everyone ahead of me, then started climbing after them, one step at a time. And I’d have made it, even if I’d had to do it butt-first.
So thank you for sensitizing folks to this issue. Most people I know don’t take preparedness very seriously. Some consider it a joke. So I always figure I’ve succeeded if I reach two people out of a hundred.
Good on ya!
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Fascinating stuff, Kathy. You think like a real live kick ass heroine! So glad none of the possible scenarios came to pass. Though I do worry about the general blase attitude most of us have about fire drills. We assume it’s always some kid up to no good. We can’t think like that anymore.
Great blog! Look forward to the next one.
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Thanks guys…It appears I’m preaching to the choir with this group, but I hope my message reaches folks who need to understand that there ARE people in this country who have the intent to hurt us. And those who wish to do us harm practice and study and laugh at our arrogance and complaisance. Stay tuned…
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:12 pm
“Oh dear,” she said, realizing that she was one of the blase blase Americans others dissed about.
I did just sit in the restaurant near the door which now that I am thinking like Kathy would be a prime target area for the terrorist bombers who seem to love restaurants, coffee shops and bars. I was told to sit, to leave, to sit, to leave, to sit and finally to leave. Of course I took my lunch with me which had just been delivered.
I do understand that there are others who want to hurt people just because and I try to be careful. However, if I live my life in constant preparation for the worst, then haven’t I allowed the worst to already change my life?
She knew there were no easy answers to questions of being prepared or acknowledging the evil intent of others versus living her life. She rubbed the back of her neck and willed the migraine away. She thought that perhaps, just perhaps, Scarlett O’Hara may have had it right, “I’ll think it about this tomorrow.”
I promise I’ll start thinking more outside the box from now on. Thanks for the new perspective Kathy.
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Thanks Kathy for voicing what I was thinking that day. I too took the scenic route through the basement to the very steep, very long, stairs. I would have gone a different way if the rest of my workshop attendees hadn’t been blocking the nearest exit while they contemplated whether they should leave or not. I decided quickly if I was alive when I got out, I could get back in, so I left. As it turned out, it was a beautiful day and I needed the imposed break. It worked out well for me, and thankfully for all of us.
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Some people are very complacent when it comes to alarms these days. I travel quite often and always like to know the nearest escape exit. I agree that these days we can’t be too careful. Thinking outside the box is good!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:56 pm
When the alarm went off I was lucky to be in a part of the building that had several Marriott employees directing all of us safely through a storage area and outside. Steering us AWAY from the escalators and toward the shortest route out of the building.
If this had been a real emergency, the guidance of those employees, resulting in our quick exit from the building, would have saved our lives.
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I was having lunch in the restrauant when that alarm went off. Did you know that the restrauant staff wouldn’t let the diners who hadn’t paid for their meals leave? We waited to get a credit card back and then left, passing all of those other diners who were told they COULDN’T leave. Like you I wondered what would happen if it had been a real emergency.
If seems there was much confusion even amongst the staff during that alarm. Scary. Good for you for keeping a clear head and helping others in the process. I want to be next to you if that ever happens again!
July 24th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Great stuff, Kathy. Thanks for reminding us and for the advice. It brought back a memory of an “incident” in which I was involved and made me think - “I will never do that again.” I would stick behind you anytime!
July 25th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Thanks for an informative article. We in the United States have been very lucky to have been blessed with a relatively safe environment to live in. There are occasional acts that show us how vulnerable we are, but for the most part, we feel we have nothing to worry about. We may not have anything to be concerned about, but we should still be observant and careful. Using electrically operated pathways and heading to a bottleneck area are not good plans in any emergency situation. Being aware of your surroundings and thinking before you act will serve us all well in any situation.
Again, thanks for a good lesson in safety.
July 25th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Interesting post, Kathy.
I’m married to a firefighter/EMT, and the man always notes the locations of fire exits. He also pesters me (ad nauseum, at times) about paying attention to such things, along with staircases, wherever I stay.
First responders truly see differently than the rest of us. That’s why they make great heros and heroines!