A Little Fire Alarm Excitement This Morning

*And I do mean "very little" excitement*

Not much going on at work this early Sunday morning so I decided to get online and find Gracie a new winter coat... she is growing in leaps and bounds and there is no way her coat from last year will work for this winter...

So anyway, I'm nose deep in the computer when one of the alarm panels in dispatch starts beeping. My first thought was the generator alarm that tests itself every now and then. But the "beep beep" was different than normal so I glanced at the generator panel... Nope, that alarm is normal. Hmmm....

Looking over my right shoulder I realize the alarm is coming from the giant red panel over top my desk. And yes, the RED in that description would indicate that to be the FIRE panel... wuhOhh... Not just any fire panel. But the fire panel for the building I am sitting in... double whuOhh...

Well- problem one is that the building I am in is not really set up to be a police station and the room I work in is no where near designed to be a Dispatch Center. Climbing up on my desk and pushing a lamp out of the way I try to open the alarm box to silence it. Which leads to problem two...

In an attempt to make this a functional work area, a shelf was put up next to the alarm panel. Then a very heavy printer was put on top of the shelf. The problem with the shelf is that it just barely over laps the panel door, making it difficult to open. One would think that I could just inch the shelf over a bit so I can pull the door open. Yeah, but- that would be too easy. Instead, the shelf is screwed into the brackets holding it up... can't have anything too simple...

Kneeling on the desk, trying to hold my balance while leaning over all my radio equipment to push on a shelf that wasn't going to budge, made for an awkward position... I'm gonna need some help... I radioed for my on duty officer, JT, to come help me open the door to silence the alarm... it's hard to dispatch on the radio with an alarm going off in the background... But before JT got to station, I managed to get the door open and push the "silence" button... I am just glad no one else was in the room to see me do my little balancing act with my butt in the air...

Ok, alarm silenced- Now, tone out the fire department. Keep in mind the sun hasn't come up yet, this is the first Autumn morning with frost on the windshields, and I am about to roll the firemen out of their nice, warm beds at home... heh heh heh- if I have to be up, they have to be up. Sick and twisted I am...

So- the 'page' goes out and the firemen get up. JT is now on station beginning to do a walk through... the City building is an old brick, 3 story building with a full basement... The fire Chief and two Assistants arrive on scene shortly there after. None of them in bunker gear, I might add...What kind of rip off is that?! Just sucks all the fun out of seeing firemen... Who wants to see a fireman in jeans and a sweat shirt?... pffff...

Years ago when I dispatched for the County, lightening struck the building and blew out one of our radios in the process. The building filled with the stench of burnt electrical wires so we toned out the fire department. Within minutes we had a room full of firemen in bunker gear to google at... remember that JLo?? Eye Candy...hee hee...

So I'm feeling a little gypped this morning... sniffle, snif snif... Oh well. But who needs to look at those guys anyway? I've got a hunky fireman of my own at home.

Alright- getting back to the alarm. The building checked out ok... no smoke. no fire... The alarm panel flashed "system trouble", so unless it goes off again or I smell smoke- we left the situation at, "call the alarm company in the morning and have them come check it out."

The firemen went back home. JT left to go finish his breakfast. And I logged into blogger to post about this event.

Now that I am done here I think I'll go write a few pre-posts about the kids.