There I was, left out in the cold again

This evening my building had a fire alarm. This was the second one since I moved in here in September. I was napping when at about ten to six the alarm went off. Not sure how seriously I should take it, I leapt out of bed and decided to grab my wallet and such so that I could get groceries since I had meant to do that anyway. The last time there was a fire alarm, I was the only one who went outside. This time, to prevent further embarassment, I wanted to make it look like I had a reason to leave the building that was totally separate from the alarm. However, I had no reason to worry as by the time I got downstairs, there was already a cluster of people huddled near the doorway. Strangely, the fact that a number of people had obeyed the alarm made me think that there was an actual problem. It's strange that I feel like the fire alarm needs a confirmation from outside.

Everyone stood shivering and not interacting with each other for a good ten minutes. I thought to myself how happy I was that I had slept in my clothes. I imagined the same scene with me in my pj's and it was much less pleasant. After a few minutes, I considered leaving for groceries, but I was concerned that there I would look even sillier returning with groceries if my apartment burned down in the meantime. After ten minutes of shivering (well, others were shivering. I was wearing my red hat with earflaps and my Thinsulate gloves, and no pajamas) and non-interaction, I said, "Shouldn't the fire department be here by now?" People laughed and agreed. One couple standing across from me told us that actually, the fire alarm does not notify the fire department. So, in case of a fire, we must all leave the building and wait for someone else to call the fire department. Needless to say, this does not make me feel protected, especially since you can't really see the building from the road.

While all of us were standing there, a few people arrived home from work or wherever. They all went into the building, which made me wonder why the rest of us were still standing outside. Finally, one of the people at my door went back into his apartment and found the phone number for the superintendent (I don't know why we didn't just go to their house as they live right next door, but anyway) and the landlord. I thought to myself that the whole situation was ridiculous. People were going in and out of the apartment building. Obviously, they weren't seeing signs of fire or destruction. Those of us outside all agreed that there was no fire. However, we stood out there anyway. I finally just said, "Well, I was going to get groceries anyway. I didn't want to if there was an actual fire, because it seemed kind of pointless." (Here there was laughter). "But, if there's no fire, it seems like a good time to do it." After saying goodbye to my makeshift acquaintances, I set off. When I came back twenty-five or so minutes later, everyone was inside and the alarm was off.

This was an interesting experience. A somewhat unique way to meet the neighbours, anyway. I learned that there are a lot of young people in my building, and that no one seems to know each other. This is an interesting dynamic. The situation also raised safety issues both with the fire alarm going off without a fire, and with the fire alarm not actually notifying anyone who can help. I mean, it's good that in theory we will all make it outside and live, but I like to think that since the firehall is a thirty second drive away, the firepeople could be there in less than the thirty minutes that everyone was standing outside.

The moral of this story is, as one of the men in my building put it, "This building just doesn't want us to be warm."