This Is Not a Drill

Well at work we always complain about the summer being boring around here but not anymore! Just a few minutes ago I was sitting in my office reading a NY Times article when the fire alarm started going off. Our building is really old, and it was a clanging bell that went off every few seconds. I'd never heard before so I had no idea what was going on. My other coworkers who have worked here longer knew what it was so we started grabbing our stuff and heading out of the building. My boss isn't here today so I felt like I was second in command and in charge. I made sure people vacated the lounge and then started to head downstairs. Then I remembered the classroom upstairs. I went back up, and sure enough the teacher (a student) was still teaching, and the students were all just sitting there like nothing was going on. So I said "this isn't a scheduled drill, so as far as we know this is the real thing so we need you to evacuate." I called our operator who transferred me to public safety. They told me "this is not a drill, it's an actual alarm." Soon we heard sirens, and the fire department showed up. Of course, it was nothing, and now we're all back inside, but what amazed me is how nonchalant people were about the alarm. I'm all for staying calm, but to stay inside in a classroom? Other people were taking the elevator. My coworker and I decided that fire drills should actually be done away with because in the event of an actual emergency, people don't take the alarm seriously enough.