Contemporary Fire Alarm

[TiggerTrigger]

I don't know if this is the right place to post, but it seemed like the best place to start.

My parents are currently staying at the Contemporary on the 11th floor. They said a fire alarm went off around 6:00am today, but my dad said that the alarm sound and warning messages were only going off on the 4th floor. The structure amplified the sound well enough for them to hear the alarm on 11. He said it smelled like a possible electrical issue, but can't be certain that was the issue. Obviously, Chef Mickey's and Contempo are on the 4th level, so it would make sense that there could be some issue in the kitchen. We're just wondering why the alarm and warning were only broadcast on the 4th level. Like is there a certain criteria to alert the guests in the tower resort rooms? Obviously, it would be highly disruptive to evacuate the entire tower, so maybe there are firewall protections that need to be breached before that occurred?

Forgive me if this has been asked before, but it's not the text I was expecting this morning. Just curious if anyone knows as it's a bit concerning and might make them consider different resorts for future visits.

EDIT- Security said fire was on the 1st floor.

 

[musicguy856]

I don't know if this is the right place to post, but it seemed like the best place to start.

My parents are currently staying at the Contemporary on the 11th floor. They said a fire alarm went off around 6:00am today, but my dad said that the alarm sound and warning messages were only going off on the 4th floor. The structure amplified the sound well enough for them to hear the alarm on 11. He said it smelled like a possible electrical issue, but can't be certain that was the issue. Obviously, Chef Mickey's and Contempo are on the 4th level, so it would make sense that there could be some issue in the kitchen. We're just wondering why the alarm and warning were only broadcast on the 4th level. Like is there a certain criteria to alert the guests in the tower resort rooms? Obviously, it would be highly disruptive to evacuate the entire tower, so maybe there are firewall protections that need to be breached before that occurred?

Forgive me if this has been asked before, but it's not the text I was expecting this morning. Just curious if anyone knows as it's a bit concerning and might make them consider different resorts for future visits.

EDIT- Security said fire was on the 1st floor.

In high rises, sometimes fire alarms only sound on the floor where the alarm was triggered and one floor above and below.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

In high rises, sometimes fire alarms only sound on the floor where the alarm was triggered and one floor above and below.

That would make sense. My office building's alarm system is designed in that manner.

 

[BridgetR3]

Sounds like a rough start to a morning for them! Do you know where on the first floor the fire was? I know the first floor has Steakhouse 71 but I also know that there are other things down there that can cause a fire.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Sounds like a rough start to a morning for them! Do you know where on the first floor the fire was? I know the first floor has Steakhouse 71 but I also know that there are other things down there that can cause a fire.

They weren't able to get a lot of info. Just that the fire was on the 1st floor, according to the guard.

My dad said they could hear the alarm from inside their room as well as muffled evacuation orders from their room, but had to get out into the hallway to clearly hear those orders. Dad said there were instructions to take the stairs, but they passed someone rushing up to help their disabled mother still in their room. They saw someone else outside pushing her disabled father in a wheelchair, so it seems unlikely they took the stairs...although I don't know what their orders would have been. He said it didn't look like everyone in the tower had evacuated, but those that did gathered around the pool and most looked really confused.

Obviously, it wasn't a big enough issue to make the news or anything like that (at least not yet), but it does raise questions.

 

[jo-jo]

On another thread, someone has mentioned there is a sheltered room for those who can't use the stairs. If you are stuck on that floor, you would go there to wait for help. Did you notice anything like that? I have never heard of it before. I'm only interested now since DH uses a scooter at disney and rollator at home. My DH can use stairs but to go down several floors might take 20 mins.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

On another thread, someone has mentioned there is a sheltered room for those who can't use the stairs. If you are stuck on that floor, you would go there to wait for help. Did you notice anything like that? I have never heard of it before. I'm only interested now since DH uses a scooter at disney and rollator at home. My DH can use stairs but to go down several floors might take 20 mins.

He didn't mention it. There were a few trips, before his hip replacement, that he also needed a scooter. I don't recall him mentioning anything like that, but they may have also been at different resorts for those trips. I can ask.

EDIT- Dad said he hopes those rooms exist, but that it didn't look like that info was shared with any of the people requiring extra assistance that they saw.

 

[Tiggerish]

In case of a hotel fire, you use your mobility device to go to the designated fire exit. By that exit there should be signage the handicapped symbol, and wording about waiting at the Area of Rescue, That is where the firefighters will come to find you.

 

[katie26]

This is interesting - the alarm was definitely going off in our room on the 6th floor, but when we got outside, my friend and I noticed that it didn’t seem like there were as many people outside as you’d expect from a full hotel. (We were at the back of the hotel, near the pool - it looked like the folks with theme park views probably used the stairs on that side.)

 

[TiggerTrigger]

This is interesting - the alarm was definitely going off in our room on the 6th floor, but when we got outside, my friend and I noticed that it didn’t seem like there were as many people outside as you’d expect from a full hotel. (We were at the back of the hotel, near the pool - it looked like the folks with theme park views probably used the stairs on that side.)

You would have been in the same evacuation area as my parents. My dad sent me a video from the pool area and it was a pretty light crowd for a resort of that size. That's interesting that the alarm went off in your room. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[musicguy856]

You would have been in the same evacuation area as my parents. My dad sent me a video from the pool area and it was a pretty light crowd for a resort of that size. That's interesting that the alarm went off in your room. Thanks for letting me know.

Sadly, some people may have just ignored the alarm.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Sadly, some people may have just ignored the alarm.

There weren't a lot of people outside, so either a lot of people ignored it or a lot of people didn't have it go off inside their room like my parents.

 

[_19disnA]

A few times over the years we have been on vacation at some hotel/resort when we heard a fire alarm go off. We choose to exit the building and ask questions later. As I recall, there was eventually some sort of announcement made over the PA system to advise everyone when the event was over and safe to return. You generally don't get a lot of specifics about exactly what happened, probably for any number of reasons I can name. Some turn out to be false alarms, some sort of test or a malfunction of their equipment. When there is an actual fire, each one is different and how rapidly it might spread or cause other issues you have no way to know ahead of time. All large building have security/monitoring systems to deal with such issues.

A grease fire in a kitchen area is a LOT different from an electrical file that may cause the power to go out for large portions of the building. Should never use the elevator when evacuating due to a fire alarm. We have stayed at the Contemporary several times over the years. Some sort of emergency event like you are describing would not have any impact on us choosing where to stay in the future.

In buildings with large open atriums/areas (like the Contemporary), smoke tends to rise, so if there was any sort of significant fire, exiting the building regardless of your floor is certainly what I would choose to do.

 

[flowergirl45]

Tigger, we were on floor 9. The alarm woke me up, but not my husband. I went out into the hallway to ascertain what was happening, then woke my husband up so we could dress and go downstairs. It didn’t look to me like that many folks had evacuated. Later on at Steakhouse 71 for breakfast, our server told us a sprinkler head had been damaged, causing the alarm. I kinda took that with a grain of salt, but who knows.

i did see a lady with her wheelchair-bound father, and immediately a whole slew of questions came to my mind. In addition, I also wondered if individual rooms have alarm sounds. If I had been in a deep sleep, I could have easily slept through the whole thing. The alarm simply wasn’t that loud on the 9th floor.