I live in the Pacific Northwet. Errr...sorry...I mean the Pacific Northwest. Essentially that means it can rain on you even if the weatherman says it's going to be a nice day. Heck...it may even snow on you. You just never know.
With that being said, I work in an office building. We have two fire-drills a year. They take on average about 30-45 minutes to conduct. One in October, and then one in April. Those aren't the best months of the year here. People know this. It's not a secret. But you'd be amazed at how many times I've found myself outside, in the rain, with all of my coworkers who are shivering and all crowding under one umbrella. Me? I'm the 'weird' guy in the jacket with an umbrella. And my backpack. Just in case it's not a drill. If the building goes up in flames...guess what? I'm heading home with all of my stuff.
It baffles me. Seriously. I have my jacket hanging on the back of my chair. I have my backpack under my desk. As soon as I hear the alarm I grab my backpack, throw on my jacket and head down the stairs with the rest of the group. It's not rocket science. It doesn't even take me more than 30 seconds to do that. If I don't need the jacket? Guess what? I take it off! *sigh* Sorry. I'll get off my soapbox now.
What I'm getting at is that the people I work with are just not prepared. For anything.
WWYD? If the fire alarm went off in your building right now, what would you do? Take your stuff? Leave it behind? Depending on where you live it might be cold, warm, tornado season, etc. You need to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
Get a dollar-store poncho. Put it in your purse/backpack/briefcase. Throw in some gloves. A fleece beanie. Even a cheapo umbrella. (If you live in a warmer climate throw in a sun hat. And a bottle of water.) People may look at you weird seeing you carrying around things you aren't wearing...but they'll sure be jealous when you're standing outside in a light snow waiting for the Fire Department to let you back into your building.
Your observation of co-workers closely matches mine. I'm not so experienced with the fire drills, but how hard is it to prepare for something small that would be a minor inconvenience? It could turn into a major problem if you aren't prepared. I keep my pack behind my seat with my first aid kit, a few small tools, flashlights, water bottle, etc inside.
ReplyDeleteA few years back when we piled up about 3 feet of snow overnight, I was with people that didn't know what to do. They weren't dressed to clear snow from around the car even to open the door. They also had no way to get dressed because they came ready only to spend a day inside a climate controlled building. I have been snickered at for having my boot chains attached to the outside of my pack, but they have come in handy more than once.
I don't have an umbrella, though. I should get a compact one of those. Good idea.
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