We had a fire alarm at my apartment building just now. It wasn't a huge deal, just routine. The fire alarms blared, I grabbed my sandals and went outside, and considered going to the store while I was out anyways. A couple of trucks arrived, so did the building superintendent. Firefighters stomped inside, they presumably did some investigating, and then the noise stopped and we got to go back inside.
On my way back inside, I saw one of my neighbors, slowly making her way to the door. Because she has MS and moves slowly, she never made it outside before the alarm was over. All that time, and she never made it out.
If this were a "real" alarm, she would have been in serious danger. It blows me away that there's not something - anything - in place to make sure she gets out of the building quickly when needed.
If I weren't moving away this week, I'd offer to check on her in the future. But even that would be a bandaid to a larger problem. Could technology solve the problem? Apps to let the Fire Department know if you're still in the building, maybe?
What a strange interlude in my day...
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