Do You Check for Fire Exits?

Saila · 12-06-2011 02:13AM

anyone elses night/mood ruined by the thread, sickening! :mad:
to hear the people dying like that :eek::(

stoneill · 12-06-2011 02:41AM

In general most people outside of the fire services will underestimate how quickly fire can spread unless. No real frame of reference or experience to go with.

Very few people will burn to death, you will already be dead from smoke inhalation. The video just shows how a room can be billowing thick black toxic smoke in 1:30 from the initial fire, just a minute from when the alarm sounded.
It's not the smoke you see in films, grey wispy smoke that can be combated by holding a wet towel over your face. It's as toxic as any dangerous chemical you care to mention. One lung full of that and you are a gone.
Most people have a herd mentality - follow the crowd, make your way out the way you came in, this is why so may bodies are found at the usual exits.

I did a training session with the fire service in a smoke filled room, wearing breathing apparatus. We had to do a search and rescue - you cannot see anything. It's easier to close your eyes and do a blind search than to try see.
Even the seat of the fire cannot be seen, you only know it's there from the intense heat and the roar.

Did you ever wake up in the middle of the night and try walk about your room in the dark, you might stub your toe on a dresser or the foot of the bed. You may fumble for the door handle. That's in a room that you are intimately familiar with. Now imagine trying to find your way blind through a unfamiliar place, full of screaming panicking people who will step on your face to get out ahead of you.
I always check for emergency exists.

dfx- · 12-06-2011 03:25AM

Fire exits are ok if not blocked by people in a doorway or near the source of the fire.

From what I remember the fire exit is that which the band escaped through and it is the door the cameraman goes to mid-video and asks if anyone is there before going back to the blocked entrance. It is just right of the stage....which is close to the fire. I wonder how many people knowing the exit is near the fire would, in the split seconds they have, head for it or the entrance which is away from the ignition. I'd argue that for a lot of people regardless of where the fire exit is, there isn't a herd of wild horses that will send them in the direction of the visible flames.

Prevention is better than the cure and not setting off pyrotechnics in a club that has curtains and no sprinkler system. I can't understand why some families claimed the manager who set them off was not guilty of anything.

gubernaculum · 12-06-2011 03:36AM

can't remember whether it was the FT or the economist but read a great article a while back about crowd mentality in emergency situations. it specifically referenced the head of security for one of the big companies in the world trade centre who made the whole company on that floor do an escape drill every week. they'd grumble about it but when 9/11 occurred, despite being on a high floor, the vast majority of workers on that floor survived. the idea was to bypass the initial urge to panic with a routine. people freeze in emergencies and those critical seconds may make the difference between living and dying. think they cited another incident where a hotel went on fire during a wedding and people died because they just froze or ignored the threat because they didn't have clear instructions, even though the fire exits were still visible and the fire didn't take hold in that area for a while. in another room, someone yelling out directions where to go meant the casualties were much lower. i think they concluded that the odds of survival are higher if you can a) rewire your panic response with a clear, well-thought out routine (the premise behind making a fire safety plan for your home) b) practicing it regularly (this seemed vital) and c) having a clear voice of authority to guide a crowd in an emergency. can't remember all the details but think that was the gist. it stuck with me 'cause i'd never really considered how i'd behave but know i'm a freezy panicker when something suddenly shocks me and would love to train myself out of it. so answer is no, i don't check as often as i should where the exits are but threads like this are a reminder to cop on and stop being so complacent.

jive · 12-06-2011 03:36AM

That video has made me think now that at the sight of fire to smash out a window and go through it because the fire exits will get clogged up with people. I know that isn't the point of the video but due to how appalling that video was I am now extremely paranoid. I will probably see a flaming shot or something and throw a fúcking stool through the window. Not often does a video have that kind of effect, even those driving ads have no affect on me because I know they're fake.

TouchingVirus · 12-06-2011 03:51AM

Dean0088 wrote: »

The fire started because of a faulty pyrotechnics machine.

The fire started because the sparks from the pyrotechnics hit flammable soundproofing at the back of the stage. They were set up and operated by the band manager who was given a jail sentence for involuntary manslaughter - they should never have been used.

Dean0088 wrote: »

The band who were playing can be seen jumping off the stage and running out the firedoor next to the stage.

The lead guitarist of the band died, I presume he ran out the same fire exit door

jive wrote: »

even those driving ads have no affect on me because I know they're fake.

You should view some pictures/videos of some traffic accidents, that'll sort you out then.

Cocaine · 12-06-2011 04:01AM

Saila wrote: »

anyone elses night/mood ruined by the thread, sickening! :mad:
to hear the people dying like that :eek::(

Those screams of that woman banging at a locked door are horrendous.
I think I most definitely will be checking fire exits from now on.
Scary.
Just think of various night clubs you've been in, can you think of the location of one fire exit? I know I can't.
Jesus, those screams will be in my head now.

jive · 12-06-2011 04:07AM

TouchingVirus wrote: »

You should view some pictures/videos of some traffic accidents, that'll sort you out then.

Nah because I'm not an idiot. I know the consequences of serious traffic accidents. I don't need actors to show me the consequences. With something like fire though it is hard to imagine how it happens so fast. With traffic accidents they are fairly easy to comprehend. Like when people mention fire it is usually the smoke that gets you... I can just imagine myself taking a big breath and running full tilt through flames to get out of a building; but the reality is that is extremely unlikely to end well. In my mind it makes perfect sense though. This video just shows how wrong I was in my mind.

Overheal · 12-06-2011 07:01AM

Not only do I check for fire exits, I check and memorize the license plates of all the cars outside, figure out the best likely spot to get a weapon, size up the muscle to see who would be the most trouble in a fight, and mentally gauge how far I could run at that altitude before my hands start shaking. Then when all that's done I have a drink and figure out who I am.

12-06-2011 07:04AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S9y_zFGnKM

Show Time · 12-06-2011 08:54AM

As safety officer where i work it is my job to check every fire exit in the building as it would be my ass in the bacon slicer if anything went wrong.

booboo88 · 12-06-2011 10:54AM

No I've never taken any notice, but after watching that video, i think i will from now on.
Could watch to the end. it is a bit ridiculous the props they were using, fire??? come one?
Do you know how many people died in that fire?

Fukuyama · 12-06-2011 11:14AM

Guys here's a simulation video that was also posted in the other thread.

It shows all the emergency exits and windows which are used by only a few dozen people out of the 400+ despite being meters away from them.

The crowd panic mentality kicks in an everyone rushes to the main entrance. A bottle neck jam is created and only a few people trickle out the main door as the crowd stands still and waits their turn to exit. Meanwhile, smoke fills the club and they begin to panic even more.

All this despite fire exits and windows being mere meters away.

How would you react?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmPOIriMiyU

Floodric · 12-06-2011 11:20AM

Christ. I often go out to Town with my two brothers, I can only imagine the horror if this happened and we were seperate. Worrying if the 3 of us got out alive, and thats not mentioning friends. I'll certainly be sharing this with them, and take it upon myself to suss out an exits the minute we arrive at any club.

Do You Check for Fire Exits?

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