Fire alarms???

goofy4tink

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I arrived at SSR yesterday. I'm in the Paddock area, bldg 55. Last night, at 2 am, the fire alarm went off. Everyone left the building. Interestingly, about 95% of the guests had stopped to get dressed. I was out there in my nightshirt. Anyway....RCFD finally got there, went thru the bldg. We were allowed back in, after standing outside until 2:30. Evidently, the exact same thing had happened earlier that afternoon! Sure made falling back to sleep difficult.
In any case, has this happened to anyone else? Found it kind of interesting that no one from the resort said anything to us, no apology. Of course there was one guest who was a bit upset, and was asking the Disney person why it took RCFD 10 mins to get there. They are just across the street. He was saying we could have all burned up editing for them!!
 
Ugh, that makes for a difficult evening. I would hope that the resort would at least drop a short note with their apologies off at each room.
 
10 minutes for a fire truck is quick, keep in mind the firefighters were asleep too. It is sounding like either a fault in the system or a guest pulling the alarm. I would bet on the later.
 
As a firefighter that works for a municipality I can tell you that the fire alarm system is monitored by a company. That company then notifies the local dispatch center who then sets of the alarms for the stations. We go around and test these systems and you would be surprised how long it takes for the company to contact the dispatch center. Once it took an hour from the time we pulled the alarm til notification and this was at a school!
 


As a firefighter that works for a municipality I can tell you that the fire alarm system is monitored by a company. That company then notifies the local dispatch center who then sets of the alarms for the stations. We go around and test these systems and you would be surprised how long it takes for the company to contact the dispatch center. Once it took an hour from the time we pulled the alarm til notification and this was at a school!

An Hour? Crazy!!!!!

Op: I too think the resort could have and should have left atleast a voicemail for each guest in the mid morning hours... atleast acknowledging the disruption of guests sleep.
Disney Disappointment for sure!
 
It happened to us once at VWL around the same time of night, no explanation at all. I agree with another poster who mentioned fire alarm being pulled. That time of the morning and no telling what some folks are up too:confused3
 


As a firefighter that works for a municipality I can tell you that the fire alarm system is monitored by a company. That company then notifies the local dispatch center who then sets of the alarms for the stations. We go around and test these systems and you would be surprised how long it takes for the company to contact the dispatch center. Once it took an hour from the time we pulled the alarm til notification and this was at a school!

I would think that Disney monitors the fire and security systems. They also have their own 911, fire department, paramedics, and security.

:earsboy: Bill

 
It happened to us once at VWL around the same time of night, no explanation at all. I agree with another poster who mentioned fire alarm being pulled. That time of the morning and no telling what some folks are up too:confused3
Sure hope that's not what happened.

There are cameras, everywhere. Have to believe that there is a LARGE fine (not to mention local/state laws) involved. If human beings were involved, my bet would be on illegal smoking setting off one of the detectors.
 
I arrived at SSR yesterday. I'm in the Paddock area, bldg 55. Last night, at 2 am, the fire alarm went off. Everyone left the building. Interestingly, about 95% of the guests had stopped to get dressed. I was out there in my nightshirt. Anyway....RCFD finally got there, went thru the bldg. We were allowed back in, after standing outside until 2:30. Evidently, the exact same thing had happened earlier that afternoon! Sure made falling back to sleep difficult.
In any case, has this happened to anyone else? Found it kind of interesting that no one from the resort said anything to us, no apology. Of course there was one guest who was a bit upset, and was asking the Disney person why it took RCFD 10 mins to get there. They are just across the street. He was saying we could have all burned up editing for them!!
The firefighters aren't sitting in their trucks in their turnout gear waiting for a call. They have to stop whatever they are doing, get their gear on and then get in the truck. Plus each of the units are sprinkled. If heat reaches a certain degree at the ceiling, usually around 110 or 140, the fire sprinklers will go off in that area only. There is no chance of burning up within ten minutes of the notification with the fire protection that is part of the construction. This isn't like the apartment building in London that did not have fire sprinklers in the building.

And they know exactly what smoke detector, water flow alarm or manual pull station activated because each of them are identified with a code in the system. And it could have been someone doing something stupid like using the fire sprinkler to hang something from. Or holding a lighter to the sprinkler to see what would happen. Or it could have been a problem with a flapper in the water system. Any number of things.
 
As a firefighter that works for a municipality I can tell you that the fire alarm system is monitored by a company. That company then notifies the local dispatch center who then sets of the alarms for the stations. We go around and test these systems and you would be surprised how long it takes for the company to contact the dispatch center. Once it took an hour from the time we pulled the alarm til notification and this was at a school!
Same thing happened at church two months ago! The fire station is about a 3 min drive to the church. Took them 20 mins. We, also, use a monitoring company.

The firefighters aren't sitting in their trucks in their turnout gear waiting for a call. They have to stop whatever they are doing, get their gear on and then get in the truck. Plus each of the units are sprinkled. If heat reaches a certain degree at the ceiling, usually around 110 or 140, the fire sprinklers will go off in that area only. There is no chance of burning up within ten minutes of the notification with the fire protection that is part of the construction. This isn't like the apartment building in London that did not have fire sprinklers in the building.

And they know exactly what smoke detector, water flow alarm or manual pull station activated because each of them are identified with a code in the system. And it could have been someone doing something stupid like using the fire sprinkler to hang something from. Or holding a lighter to the sprinkler to see what would happen. Or it could have been a problem with a flapper in the water system. Any number of things.
Reedy Creek is right across the street! They could have geared up and walked over in less time.
Here's the thing. We know Disney has cameras everywhere. If someone messed with an external alarm, it should be traceable. If it was in a villa, again, traceable.
My issue? Nothing was said, no explanation. Sure would have been nice if a message was left, on our phones, telling us they knew what had happened, and it wouldn't happen again. I know I sure had trouble falling asleep again that night, as well as the following night. And, I overheard more than one family talking about how hard it was for them to get their kids to sleep again. The kids were afraid it was going to keep happening!
I understand that stuff happens. I get it, I really do. I realize that firefighters aren't sitting around, geared up, ready to go at all hours of the day. We're very close to the firefighters in our town. And I am well aware of the good job RCFD does! This gripe is about Disney and how they seem to be handling things lately. I have a friend who has had issue after issue, at two different DVC resorts. She complains and is compensated in some way. I'm almost afraid to complain or to make a negative comment...I'm not looking for compensation. I just want the issue addressed so it stops happening. But, I'm sure that CMs think I'm looking for something.
I love Disney, have for a very long time. But, I have to say that after this past trip, the glow is dimming. At least at the resort level. Sorry if that offends anyone.
 
Same thing happened at church two months ago! The fire station is about a 3 min drive to the church. Took them 20 mins. We, also, use a monitoring company.


Reedy Creek is right across the street! They could have geared up and walked over in less time.
Here's the thing. We know Disney has cameras everywhere. If someone messed with an external alarm, it should be traceable. If it was in a villa, again, traceable.
My issue? Nothing was said, no explanation. Sure would have been nice if a message was left, on our phones, telling us they knew what had happened, and it wouldn't happen again. I know I sure had trouble falling asleep again that night, as well as the following night. And, I overheard more than one family talking about how hard it was for them to get their kids to sleep again. The kids were afraid it was going to keep happening!
I understand that stuff happens. I get it, I really do. I realize that firefighters aren't sitting around, geared up, ready to go at all hours of the day. We're very close to the firefighters in our town. And I am well aware of the good job RCFD does! This gripe is about Disney and how they seem to be handling things lately. I have a friend who has had issue after issue, at two different DVC resorts. She complains and is compensated in some way. I'm almost afraid to complain or to make a negative comment...I'm not looking for compensation. I just want the issue addressed so it stops happening. But, I'm sure that CMs think I'm looking for something.
I love Disney, have for a very long time. But, I have to say that after this past trip, the glow is dimming. At least at the resort level. Sorry if that offends anyone.

Disney's policy is to not comment on the negative. Fire alarms are negative, makes people think that Disney isn't safe. The event occurred, don't comment, just let the guests forget and move on.

:earsboy: Bill

 
Here's the thing. We know Disney has cameras everywhere. If someone messed with an external alarm, it should be traceable. If it was in a villa, again, traceable.

I don't see how you could make this judgement. At 2am it would be very easy for some shadowy figure in dark clothes to pull an alarm and slip into the night.

My issue? Nothing was said, no explanation. Sure would have been nice if a message was left, on our phones, telling us they knew what had happened, and it wouldn't happen again.

Assuming it was someone pulling a fire alarm, it's doubtful that Disney is equipped to make this promise. Fire alarms are accessible to the public for safety purposes. But aside from personal morality--and threat of prosecution--there's little to stop a troublemaker from pulling an alarm. Even if Disney has cameras littered all throughout the resort, eventually they're going to lose sight of the culprit. The odds of security apprehending someone sprinting--or even casually walking--away from SSR at 2am seem incredibly remote.

About the only message I could see them broadcasting is something generic along the lines of "we apologize for the disturbance." They aren't going to share details with hundreds of guests if someone was smoking in a room, if someone pulled an alarm and ran, or even if it was a malfunction. There's no benefit to airing dirty laundry of this sort.

I've been in hotels that had false alarms in the middle of the night. It's awful. But short of posting a guard next to every alarm handle, our society is forced to rely on the general public's willingness to only use the alarms in the event of a true emergency.
 
Same thing happened at church two months ago! The fire station is about a 3 min drive to the church. Took them 20 mins. We, also, use a monitoring company.


Reedy Creek is right across the street! They could have geared up and walked over in less time.
Here's the thing. We know Disney has cameras everywhere. If someone messed with an external alarm, it should be traceable. If it was in a villa, again, traceable.
My issue? Nothing was said, no explanation. Sure would have been nice if a message was left, on our phones, telling us they knew what had happened, and it wouldn't happen again. I know I sure had trouble falling asleep again that night, as well as the following night. And, I overheard more than one family talking about how hard it was for them to get their kids to sleep again. The kids were afraid it was going to keep happening!
I understand that stuff happens. I get it, I really do. I realize that firefighters aren't sitting around, geared up, ready to go at all hours of the day. We're very close to the firefighters in our town. And I am well aware of the good job RCFD does! This gripe is about Disney and how they seem to be handling things lately. I have a friend who has had issue after issue, at two different DVC resorts. She complains and is compensated in some way. I'm almost afraid to complain or to make a negative comment...I'm not looking for compensation. I just want the issue addressed so it stops happening. But, I'm sure that CMs think I'm looking for something.
I love Disney, have for a very long time. But, I have to say that after this past trip, the glow is dimming. At least at the resort level. Sorry if that offends anyone.
This is NOT like on TV, it does take a few minutes to get out of bed, put on their clothing and come. (Plus they already knew you weren't burning down so it's not really a big emergency!) And what good would "walking over" do? I think taking the time to get their equipment and the truck was probably a good move LOL!

And Disney does not actually have cameras everywhere. That's one of those myths. They actually don't have near as many as you probably think.

And if they called you and said "it won't happen again" and then tonight it happens, then what?

While I don't think Disney is perfect I also don't think apologies are due for fire alarms.
 
Well the alarm went off at YC 30 min ago. (3:30am). Stopped before we left the room but we are wide awake 2 hrs before we leave for EEMH. Doubt we will be able to fall back asleep. I’d like an apology. Can’t nap in the room during the day due to nearby construction noise. It’s going to be a long day.
 
Happened to us at Kidani this past June. There was no real coordination from any of the Resort staff. It felt like there was no procedure in place . No one came out to assuage the guests of their concerns. In fact, I think it was a maintenance guy who finally gave us the "all clear." I never really expected an apology, just some contact from the staff. Like, someone with walkie-talkie letting us know what's happening.
 
Well the alarm went off at YC 30 min ago. (3:30am). Stopped before we left the room but we are wide awake 2 hrs before we leave for EEMH. Doubt we will be able to fall back asleep. I’d like an apology. Can’t nap in the room during the day due to nearby construction noise. It’s going to be a long day.
Do you know why it went off? It might have been pulled by a guest. The hotel would not owe an apology for that.
Denise
 
October is Fire Prevention Month, so many places do an annual fire alarm test during October. But then there is the guest who decides to hang their dress on a sprinkler head causing the sprinkler head to go off.
 

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