Building Security, Alarms, & Evacuations

[catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "Sister Mary Lunatic" <klaatu at p...> 
wrote:
> Has anyone else had similar experiences?  It seems to me that this 
might
> explain why so many did not leave the WTC immediately when they 
first became
> aware of a problem.
> 
> SML
> ==================================

Yes, I have.  I used to work in Central London, just off Oxford 
Street, where security alerts (as Neil will atest) are commonplace.  
A few years ago, alarms and evacuations were quite frequent, to the 
extent that when there was a gas explosion in the basement of our 
building, we all just thought, here we go again, another opportunity 
to go to the pub for a few hours before we're let back in...so of 
course we all took our time collecting together our belongings etc. 
having no idea something was actually going on.  It 's normal.

On the WTC - some of the Citibankers my husband knows told him 
yesterday that they were actually told initially that there was no 
cause for alarm and that they should stay at their desks until 
further notice.  They were situated quite low down in the North 
Tower, so probably weren't as aware as those higher up that something 
serious was happening.  Fortunately, most of them ignored what 
security said and evacuated immediately.

Catherine