Conan - Fire Alarm

[Guest]

Sad, but funny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsByxPQ_G7Q

[Guest]

Sad, but funny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsByxPQ_G7Q

Another reason to not like him.

[emt301 4]

Sad, but funny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsByxPQ_G7Q

Really pathetic. Amazing that people are so self-absorbed that they're incapable of reacting properly to something as simple as a fire alarm - that pertains not only to Conan, but to his audience as well. Conan cracked jokes and the audience laughed/stayed in their seats when the alarm went off...but you can bet the same audience members would now be talking to their lawyers if somebody had actually gotten hurt due to an actual fire in the NBC studio. Amazing how incapable people are of taking care of themselves in the simplest things, if nobody's there to lead them by the hand.

Edited October 18, 2007 by emt301

[Guest]

Really pathetic. Amazing that people are so self-absorbed that they're incapable of reacting properly to something as simple as a fire alarm - that pertains not only to Conan, but to his audience as well. Conan cracked jokes and the audience laughed/stayed in their seats when the alarm went off...but you can bet the same audience members would now be talking to their lawyers if somebody had actually gotten hurt due to an actual fire in the NBC studio. Amazing how incapable people are of taking care of themselves in the simplest things, if nobody's there to lead them by the hand.

I agree 100%. I was amazed (well not really) that no one moved. I really don’t like this guy but put that aside, the fact that no one left, clapped about the fact that they where being interrupted was pathetic. I also do not understand why the alarm was silenced as the building personnel where investigating what they believed to be a false alarm.

[AFS1970 504]

And to add to this insanity, read the comments under the video on YouTube, everyone thinks Coana handled this great, after all he made light of an emergency and kept people who should have been evacuating, laughing.

Wouldn't it have been really great if he had been able to use his position to help guide the people to a safe area or at least to be ready at the exits in case of an evacuation.

[Oswegowind 17]

You all have your points, but maybe keeping people calm was a better option. The studio may have a policy in place that says if there is no imminent danger they don't panic people for no reason. In situations such as this it may be better to have them sit, calm them down, and then if needed coordinate a controlled evacuation. Schools drill our children on this all of the time so they understand how to do it and also where to go already, but mix in 300 or so (maybe more) adults that haven't had a fire drill in years and don't know what is happening and it could become tragic for no reason. When the fire alarms sounds at a hospital, we don't evacuate the entire facility immediately, do we???? Use your heads people...this is where thinking outside the box is so important!

[emt301 4]

Use your heads people...this is where thinking outside the box is so important!

The point that I believe many of us are making is that too many people anymore are incapable of "using their heads". Obviously, in a situation such as a hospital, stadium, etc....special circumstances exist, and therefore special procedures should be in place for a fire alarm. In general, however, the reaction that people in Conan's audience displayed is becoming more & more common when fire alarms sound. Alarms get silenced & reset prior to FD arrival, and people don't evacuate. Geeze, sometimes people won't even leave when there's a confirmed smoke condition. I went to a call one time at a strip mall where we actually had smoke in the building, and one clown initially refused to leave because his deli sandwich was still being prepared, and he was in a hurry !!!!

Edited October 19, 2007 by emt301

[x635 4,066]

I agree with those who say don't cause a panic situation.

Conan's studio in 30 Rock is very, very small. It's also located on one of the upper floors of the building, accesible primarlily via elevator.

There's no need to get a crowd of 100 or so people to evacuate- there's a lot of money, time, and pressure riding on the taping of Conan. The is a sprinkler system. The fire alarm system is very complex at 30 Rock, and they do have a 24/7 Fire Safety director, so the production staff probaly handled the situation as they were directed or previously told. If the studio were evacuated every time there was a fire alarm, we'd probaly see interuppted broadcasts of Saturday Night Live, NBC News, WNBC TV, etc all the time.

He handled it like he should- as a comedian- but he should have said something about not making a mockery of situations like that.

P.S. There is construction on the 5th floor of 30 Rock involving the final prep of the new studios and offices for MSNBC, CNBC, , and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.

[Guest partyrock]

For an automatic fire alarm with no confirmation of smoke or fire the policy in Manhattan highrises (like 30 Rockefeller Plaza) is to defend in place. If there is fire on your floor you evacuate. If there is no fire then you await instructions from building security or the fire dept.

[Oswegowind 17]

The acronym in place for situations like this is:

A alarm

C confine

R rescue

E evacuate

[nycemt728 49]

I understand that it can be tough to evacuate and that crowds panic, but at what point do we draw the line? At what floor do we say ok stop evacuating during an alarm and wait? I remember in school we had fire drills all the time, even in college. It was ignored sometimes but it was good practice. In grad school now in a 14 story building, we had a fire drill where everyone was supposed to report to the nearest stairwell. Thats better than nothing, but even that is tempered when there are big notes posted around the building saying evac is NOT required during a fire drill. It would seem to me that it's always best to take the few extra minutes and air on the side of caution. If people are injured, the retropsect there is really simple; if only we had moved a little sooner.... I'm with EMT1301, the general opinion of the public w/ regards to alarms is changing, and as responders I think its somthing we need to be aware and concerned about.

And before everyone tells me that its impossible to move large amounts of people quickly, I do this almost weekly at work. With practice, it CAN be done, its almost a matter laziness sometimes on the staff rather than people reacting incorrectly.

[Guest partyrock]

With practice, it CAN be done, its almost a matter laziness sometimes on the staff rather than people reacting incorrectly.

You said it, practice. Are there going to be fire drills at every taping? What about the other multitude of businesses that occupy high rises. Its just not practical. Mass evacuations also slow ff access to the fire floor. They allow some and potentially fire to spread throughout the building. This is a well researched issue and while several problems were highlighted after 9/11 it is still a sound policy that is safer than the alternative.