Uni Hall fire alarm

[schmod]

Bloody brilliant idea to lock every single fire exit in the building....

[Pacitti]

its fucking shocking. Think Rodger is gonna be gettin a few angry e-mails!

[hr]

http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37109385

[Gealle]

From past experience, I shouldn't expect the emails to be acted upon.

It seems the most vicious and spiteful people in the world work for RESBUS

Quoting Pacitti from 08:57, 27th Feb 2008
its fucking shocking. Think Rodger is gonna be gettin a few angry e-mails!

[hr]

http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37109385

[hr]

So someone asked me "What is it you do?". I thought about it for a minute. Then I thought about it a little more. All the while I probably looked like I was staring in to space, struggling for an answer. And I was. There was only one response I could really give.

"I make sure the shit stays off the fan."

[romantic]

Quoting schmod from 07:22, 27th Feb 2008
Bloody brilliant idea to lock every single fire exit in the building....

Go to the press about it. Seriously.

[What?]

if you don't then I will. I know a few people in the Scottish papers who would rub their hands with glee when they hear about this.

Quoting romantic from 11:17, 27th Feb 2008

Quoting schmod from 07:22, 27th Feb 2008
Bloody brilliant idea to lock every single fire exit in the building....

Go to the press about it. Seriously.

[eagle]

Permanently locked, or was there a "break glass in case of emergency" option?

[schmod]

Quoting eagle from 11:31, 27th Feb 2008
Permanently locked, or was there a "break glass in case of emergency" option?

Dead-bolted. The glass tubes had been removed.

This is just one small chapter in the neverending saga of crap that we've had to put up with this year.

[white_wolf]

call the fire safety officer and inform him of the infringement!

[iab2]

In my day, the fire doors of uni hall were almost permenantly open with the number of false alarms we had (~250 per year). No-one bothered to change the glass tubes after a while. It seems they cannot get the fire provisions right for that hall. Where I am now (Heriot-Watt >shudder<) there are the same type of alarms but they rarely go off and you can smoke in your rooms if want without fear of the alarms. In uni hall you were scared to breath near the overly sensitive alarms. Has that changed at all?

[hr]

http://www.usefilm.com/photographer/104233.html

[Euro]

Get whoever is in charge of uni hall sacked. Seriously. Chuck them out of their job. And get the newspapers over it.

[Euro]

Quoting iab2 from 19:48, 27th Feb 2008
In my day, the fire doors of uni hall were almost permenantly open with the number of false alarms we had (~250 per year). No-one bothered to change the glass tubes after a while. It seems they cannot get the fire provisions right for that hall. Where I am now (Heriot-Watt >shudder<) there are the same type of alarms but they rarely go off and you can smoke in your rooms if want without fear of the alarms. In uni hall you were scared to breath near the overly sensitive alarms. Has that changed at all?

[hr]

http://www.usefilm.com/photographer/104233.html

In New Hall they have all sorts of rubbish talking about keeping your bathroom doors closed to stop alarms etc. But it's all just made up, as you can boil a kettle in your bedroom and nothing happens.

[Notorious]

Sorry Euro,

It may seem to you that New Hall is talking 'rubbish' about these matters, but I can assure you that it is definitely possible to set off the fire alarm by leaving the shower door open when having a shower or by using a kettle in the room.

Quoting Euro from 09:46, 28th Feb 2008


In New Hall they have all sorts of rubbish talking about keeping your bathroom doors closed to stop alarms etc. But it's all just made up, as you can boil a kettle in your bedroom and nothing happens.

[Lid]

If I can bring to your attention the University's fire safety policy:

5.9 External exits

Unimpeded and adequate escape routes must be maintained at all times. Final fire exit doors must never be blocked internally or externally.

Heads will most probably roll.

[hr]

Mathematical Anti Telharsic Harfatum Septomin

[Frank]

If my memory isn't mistaken, is it not the case that this is a dangerous case of something very illegal going on in terms of fire safety legislation?

That is: There was a huge hullabaloo about the folks that died in a basement-flat fire as they couldn't get out their door and the windows were literally barred? This led to a prominent change in the legal requirements for residencey stuff, didn't it?

In any case, I'd be furious if I were a Uni Hall resident. Whoever was supposed to be responsible for this in Uni Hall better have some sort of god up their sleeve.

Choo choo on the press brigade, I hope.

[hr]

"There is only ever one truth. Things are always black or white, there's no such thing as a shade of grey. If you think that something is a shade of grey it simply means that you don't fully understand the situation. The truth is narrow and the path of the pursuit of truth is similarly narrow."
Also, some years later:
"here we are arguing about a few uppity troublemakers with a bee in their bonnet and a conspiracy theory."

[What?]

Scotland's finest Sunday tabloid has been duly notified, will report back if I hear back from them.

They love screwing over the Unis, perhaps this is what's needed for action? My girlfriend stays in Uni Hall, I'd rather accommodation services get a hard time from the press than she is crushed in a stampede if ever there was a real fire.

[Euro]

Quoting Notorious from 10:21, 28th Feb 2008
Sorry Euro,

It may seem to you that New Hall is talking 'rubbish' about these matters, but I can assure you that it is definitely possible to set off the fire alarm by leaving the shower door open when having a shower or by using a kettle in the room.

Quoting Euro from 09:46, 28th Feb 2008


In New Hall they have all sorts of rubbish talking about keeping your bathroom doors closed to stop alarms etc. But it's all just made up, as you can boil a kettle in your bedroom and nothing happens.

Well for 3 years I must have had a faulty fire alarm in 3 different bedrooms, or perhaps my kettle didn't release enough steam, or maybe I was having cold showers.

[Notorious]

Euro,

Let me see if I can expand your horizons here and get you thinking about this in a more logical manner. Maybe your smoke detector is not as sensitive as some, maybe you didn't shower as long as some people, maybe you prefer a colder water temperature than others - there are a number of reasons why you, despite acting irresponsibly, didn't set the fire alarm off.

But the reality, and you can trust me on this, is that the smoke detectors can be set off by steam. So, hypothetically, what would happen if, averaged over all the detectors in hall, there was just a 0.1% (in reality this would be a far far larger number) probability that the fire alarm will go off if the shower door is left open during use. There are 550 students in New Hall, so maybe 500 showers per day, so that would mean 1 alarm every two days.

That would really really suck!

So, how do you fix this problem....everybody keeps their shower doors closed. Simple!

Euro, you were really lucky not to set the alarm off. Firstly, you would have felt a bit stupid and inconvenienced a lot of people if you had done so, and secondly if you had set it off with your kettle, you would have been in all kinds of trouble. It is against the conditions of let to even have a kettle in your room.

Hope this clears up your thinking on the issue.

If anybody from New Hall is reading this, please don't be tempted to try and leave your shower door open; it's really not worth the hastle. The number of alarms due to shower steam have reduced greatly ever since New Hall started drilling the "keep your shower door closed" message into students - please keep up the good work and keep you shower door closed

End of sermon.

Quoting Euro from 19:39, 28th Feb 2008

Quoting Notorious from 10:21, 28th Feb 2008
Sorry Euro,

It may seem to you that New Hall is talking 'rubbish' about these matters, but I can assure you that it is definitely possible to set off the fire alarm by leaving the shower door open when having a shower or by using a kettle in the room.

Quoting Euro from 09:46, 28th Feb 2008


In New Hall they have all sorts of rubbish talking about keeping your bathroom doors closed to stop alarms etc. But it's all just made up, as you can boil a kettle in your bedroom and nothing happens.

Well for 3 years I must have had a faulty fire alarm in 3 different bedrooms, or perhaps my kettle didn't release enough steam, or maybe I was having cold showers.

[What?]

Speaking of fire alarms in New Hall, we haven't even had a drill yet this semester. While I'm delighted about uninterrupted sleep right through until morning, I was of the impression that this contravenes law/regulations/policy/something.

Now I've jinxed it we will have one in the morning I bed.

[nighteyes]

God you couldnt be more preachy if you tried. but I am going with Euro, I have a kettle in my room (though granted a private flat) and candles as well. Not once have I set off an alarm.

The kitchens in Albany have fire alarms in them and no matter how much water you boil (kettle or pots) they never went off the two years I lived there. Even minor smoke from burned toast wouldnt set them off. It took forgoten bacon under the grill etc to do that.

Quoting Notorious from 21:19, 28th Feb 2008
Euro,

Let me see if I can expand your horizons here and get you thinking about this in a more logical manner. Maybe your smoke detector is not as sensitive as some, maybe you didn't shower as long as some people, maybe you prefer a colder water temperature than others - there are a number of reasons why you, despite acting irresponsibly, didn't set the fire alarm off.

But the reality, and you can trust me on this, is that the smoke detectors can be set off by steam. So, hypothetically, what would happen if, averaged over all the detectors in hall, there was just a 0.1% (in reality this would be a far far larger number) probability that the fire alarm will go off if the shower door is left open during use. There are 550 students in New Hall, so maybe 500 showers per day, so that would mean 1 alarm every two days.

That would really really suck!

So, how do you fix this problem....everybody keeps their shower doors closed. Simple!

Euro, you were really lucky not to set the alarm off. Firstly, you would have felt a bit stupid and inconvenienced a lot of people if you had done so, and secondly if you had set it off with your kettle, you would have been in all kinds of trouble. It is against the conditions of let to even have a kettle in your room.

Hope this clears up your thinking on the issue.

If anybody from New Hall is reading this, please don't be tempted to try and leave your shower door open; it's really not worth the hastle. The number of alarms due to shower steam have reduced greatly ever since New Hall started drilling the "keep your shower door closed" message into students - please keep up the good work and keep you shower door closed

End of sermon.

Quoting Euro from 19:39, 28th Feb 2008

Quoting Notorious from 10:21, 28th Feb 2008
Sorry Euro,

It may seem to you that New Hall is talking 'rubbish' about these matters, but I can assure you that it is definitely possible to set off the fire alarm by leaving the shower door open when having a shower or by using a kettle in the room.




[quote]Quoting Euro from 09:46, 28th Feb 2008


In New Hall they have all sorts of rubbish talking about keeping your bathroom doors closed to stop alarms etc. But it's all just made up, as you can boil a kettle in your bedroom and nothing happens.

Well for 3 years I must have had a faulty fire alarm in 3 different bedrooms, or perhaps my kettle didn't release enough steam, or maybe I was having cold showers.

[/quote]

[hr]

i didnt say i was consistant, just right!

[schmod]

The sort of detector used in kitchens and bathrooms is different from what you'd find in a bedroom.

The things you see installed in kitchens are often Heat Detectors, and are only set off by unusual and sudden increases in heat. Sometimes they also have a smoke detection function that's a tad less sensitive than what you'd find in your bedroom.