Comments on: Interesting Day at the Office http://dactylmanor.org/blair/zero/2007/11/20/interesting-day-at-the-office/ (It's not defined!) Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:36:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Blair http://dactylmanor.org/blair/zero/2007/11/20/interesting-day-at-the-office/#comment-2957 Blair Wed, 21 Nov 2007 05:13:20 +0000 http://dactylmanor.org/blair/zero/2007/11/20/interesting-day-at-the-office/#comment-2957 I've seen those styrofoam facades a time or two. They seem like a great way to put a fancy front on a building without the expense and hassle of bricks, stones or stucco. I doubt the builders gave much thought to it being flammable. <p> </p> This wasn't my first experience with the fire department showing up at the office. The building where my previous employer was located was still being finished when we moved in and the fire alarm required frequent system tests. After several months of weekly test alarms, we became fairly desensitized and began to ignore them. One day, when the alarm had been blaring for a while, we finally went outside more to escape from the noise than any sense that it might be real. We were all quite startled when the fire trucks pulled in. (Nope, that one wasn't a test after all.) The next morning, I was chatting with my boss about the occurrence and he spit coffee across his keyboard at the mention of fire trucks. He thought it was a false alarm too, but rather than go outside to escape the noise, he'd merely shut his office door. I’ve seen those styrofoam facades a time or two. They seem like a great way to put a fancy front on a building without the expense and hassle of bricks, stones or stucco.

I doubt the builders gave much thought to it being flammable.

 

This wasn’t my first experience with the fire department showing up at the office. The building where my previous employer was located was still being finished when we moved in and the fire alarm required frequent system tests. After several months of weekly test alarms, we became fairly desensitized and began to ignore them. One day, when the alarm had been blaring for a while, we finally went outside more to escape from the noise than any sense that it might be real. We were all quite startled when the fire trucks pulled in. (Nope, that one wasn’t a test after all.)

The next morning, I was chatting with my boss about the occurrence and he spit coffee across his keyboard at the mention of fire trucks. He thought it was a false alarm too, but rather than go outside to escape the noise, he’d merely shut his office door.

]]> By: Z. http://dactylmanor.org/blair/zero/2007/11/20/interesting-day-at-the-office/#comment-2956 Z. Wed, 21 Nov 2007 04:33:21 +0000 http://dactylmanor.org/blair/zero/2007/11/20/interesting-day-at-the-office/#comment-2956 That happened where I worked about five years ago. A burning cigarette ignited mulch next to the building's outside wall. According to the firefighters, a vacuum created by empty space between the interior and exterior walls drew the fire up into the side of the building. The firefighters hacked through the outside wall to put out the flames and discovered they were able to kick it in with their boots. The building was covered with inch-thick styrofoam material painted to look like stucco. There was no plywood underneath; it was just nailed to the studs. The clean-up company had to bring in huge fans to rid the building of the burning-styrofoam smell. That happened where I worked about five years ago. A burning cigarette ignited mulch next to the building’s outside wall. According to the firefighters, a vacuum created by empty space between the interior and exterior walls drew the fire up into the side of the building. The firefighters hacked through the outside wall to put out the flames and discovered they were able to kick it in with their boots. The building was covered with inch-thick styrofoam material painted to look like stucco. There was no plywood underneath; it was just nailed to the studs. The clean-up company had to bring in huge fans to rid the building of the burning-styrofoam smell.

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