So today the management of the building where of offices are based decided to pull a fire drill on us! Fun right? Not at all. A while back when one of my colleagues went for fire rescue training organised by the management of the building, one of the questions I asked her is if they had been given any tips on how to evacuate people with various disabilities in case of a fire. No mention at all. I just kept hoping that in case of a fire drill they would give us a heads-up. Anxiety is a big part of my daily life which has seen me develop OCD ( Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) to take control of situations and minimise my instances of anxiety. About two hours ago, I was hinted at that there would be a fire drill in the building anytime from 11AM. As you can maybe imagine, I was happy that i was in the know, but that was just before my anxiety kicked in. First, I became suddenly hungry despite having a pretty routine morning, then came fatigue not to mention the very restful night I had thanks to my 8hours of sleep. Then came the thirst, a few sips of water then came my crazy web searches titled "fire drills for people with limited mobility". Barely had I finished reading the first web-result than I heard the alarm go off.
"Let's get out! Let's get out!"
I grabbed my phone on the way out ( Yes, that;s the only valuable I seem to have :-D ) and stepped out of the office. My mind had refused to load the fact that we would be going down the flight of stairs from the 3rd Floor where our office is. I just checked to make sure I had someone walking behind me before I began the descent as my security that someone would not push me or touch me as the slightest unanticipated touch could make me loose my footing.
2nd Floor
1st Floor
Ground Floor, Hurray!!!!!
My legs had just began to tire and boy am I glad our office is not on 7th Floor!
We walked right out of the building and identified our assembly points and I got to really relax then.
Moments later after a briefing we were cleared to go back into the building. First thought that came to my mind was the stairs but luckily the the management powered the lifts back on and my legs were spared.Back in the office, the feeling of two spoons http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/ being taken away from me came over my body.
I take several lessons from this,
- Prior warning about a fire drill only gives me more anxiety while allowing my brain time to process.
- A heads-up is not sufficient when only given to employees, visitors with disabilities will also be affected.
- Needs of persons with disabilities are not factored in in the emergency response planning especially basic training such as fire rescue.
- You're not always in control of how your spoons get used within the day.
"Let's get out! Let's get out!"
I grabbed my phone on the way out ( Yes, that;s the only valuable I seem to have :-D ) and stepped out of the office. My mind had refused to load the fact that we would be going down the flight of stairs from the 3rd Floor where our office is. I just checked to make sure I had someone walking behind me before I began the descent as my security that someone would not push me or touch me as the slightest unanticipated touch could make me loose my footing.
2nd Floor
1st Floor
Ground Floor, Hurray!!!!!
My legs had just began to tire and boy am I glad our office is not on 7th Floor!
We walked right out of the building and identified our assembly points and I got to really relax then.
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| Fire drill briefing at assembly point |
I take several lessons from this,
- Prior warning about a fire drill only gives me more anxiety while allowing my brain time to process.
- A heads-up is not sufficient when only given to employees, visitors with disabilities will also be affected.
- Needs of persons with disabilities are not factored in in the emergency response planning especially basic training such as fire rescue.
- You're not always in control of how your spoons get used within the day.
this came at a very less time anouncement and what the management should do in future is to be well prepared on such kind of emergency response expecially when dealing with person with disability within the building and hopefully they will have required equipment for evacuation.
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