Woden Plaza Evacuated

Pesty said :

regarding the Woden incident, i wonder how many prople were very inconvenienced by this drill? Its OK for the fit ones, but what about he seniors who have to put in significant effort to get around the joint in the first place.

What, the same seniors who would be most likely to be burned alive if Woden Plaza stuffed up a real evacuation?

I was working in westfield Belconnen this morning and the alarms were tested there too. However, there was a “no action required” announcement broadcast with it.

regarding the Woden incident, i wonder how many prople were very inconvenienced by this drill? Its OK for the fit ones, but what about he seniors who have to put in significant effort to get around the joint in the first place.

DarkLadyWolfMother said :

Drills are only a good idea for those who have the responsibility of making sure the place is cleared. For customers, they’re useless, and disruptive. From that, I suggest, it can also lead to lost business.

They are absolutely disruptive. However the cost of that potential loss of business is not as high as the cost of being sued for millions of dollars for contributory negligent manslaughter.

Not making it obvious it was an ‘exercise’ or ‘test’ can put unnecessary stress on people. From what I’ve been told, older people and mothers with babies were rushing out, many truly worried about what was happening, and what the danger was. Many were guessing fire. Perhaps this shows a breakdown of processes they need to address.

That would completely defeat the purpose. If you say it’s just a drill, nobody would leave until the Firemen came and dragged them out by their hair (and they don’t come to drills anyway). You need to test as if it were a real situation, that is the only way to get accurate results.

Restaurant and cafe owners were also made to turn off their equipment before leaving, which meant that they’d have to restart things when they returned – possibly more delays for customers.

Yeah it sucks that people have to wait an extra few minutes so that we can be safe. I’m guessing you are one of those customers that I would desperately love to punch in the face.

Is disrupting the whole Plaza really worth it? I’m genuinely curious. Are all those who need to know now aware of their duties, and what problems there may be in the event of a real emergency? Has this been useful, or a tick in a box? Does anyone have any clues?

They are invaluable for management.

My Housemate might disagree with you 54-11. She was up the Corinna end of the Plaza, if that helps. Admittedly this is a small sample (those around her, not the entire area).

With all of this I’m aware that staff need to be trained, but I question using unwitting customers during that training. However, given that my own experience is limited to office buildings (where they ran so many ‘drills’ that people gave up doing anything sensible) and everyone was ‘staff’, then perhaps I should bow to those who know more.

After I finish this little rant, of course 😉

DarkLadyWolfMother said :

Not making it obvious it was an ‘exercise’ or ‘test’ can put unnecessary stress on people. From what I’ve been told, older people and mothers with babies were rushing out, many truly worried about what was happening, and what the danger was. Many were guessing fire. Perhaps this shows a breakdown of processes they need to address.

If ‘those’ people get stressed with an alarm going off, no fire and no smoke in their immediate area – then they probably shouldn’t be leaving their house.

DarkLadyWolfMother said :

Is disrupting the whole Plaza really worth it?

Staff need to be trained in how to evacuate safely during a fire, its OH&S requirement for most places. When it comes down to it, most people like the idea of having a white helmet in their office that says ‘warden’, but if they don’t know what to do with it, then there’s not much point.

DLWM, there was the early “whoop, whoop, whoop” well before the evacuation started, and plenty of Westfield staff on hand, so there was no need for anyone to be unduly concerned. I didn’t see anyone hurrying, and certainly there was no sense of haste, although every drill needs to have some urgency to make sure that the place is cleared within a reasonable time.

The only urgency I saw was at the end of the drill, when people were keen to get back inside – some to get back to their stores, some to get out of the cold, and no doubt some to lighten their wallets as quickly as possible.

Some stores certainly knew about the drill, although I suspect not everyone did. It took about 15 minutes from whoa to go, at 10.00am on a Tuesday morning, so I wouldn’t have thought it was anywhere near as disruptive as many other times.

Drills are only a good idea for those who have the responsibility of making sure the place is cleared. For customers, they’re useless, and disruptive. From that, I suggest, it can also lead to lost business.

Not making it obvious it was an ‘exercise’ or ‘test’ can put unnecessary stress on people. From what I’ve been told, older people and mothers with babies were rushing out, many truly worried about what was happening, and what the danger was. Many were guessing fire. Perhaps this shows a breakdown of processes they need to address.

Restaurant and cafe owners were also made to turn off their equipment before leaving, which meant that they’d have to restart things when they returned – possibly more delays for customers.

Is disrupting the whole Plaza really worth it? I’m genuinely curious. Are all those who need to know now aware of their duties, and what problems there may be in the event of a real emergency? Has this been useful, or a tick in a box? Does anyone have any clues?

I happened to be in the Plaza when they pulled the drill. Is it usual for (primarily) ladies fashion stores to open late, or were they aware of the drill and decided to have a sleep in? A number, including Country Road, were closed at 9.45am.

jakez said :

Evacuations are a pain in the arse…

Metamucil. Or unprocessed bran on your Weeties.

It’s good practice to run them when shop owners are around – hence why they do it nice and early when [hardly] anyone is around.