Fire alarm at 2am

So, in case you haven't seen my Bradtastic tumblr, here's a recap.

Around 2AM Saturday morning, the building's fire alarm was triggered. Slightly disoriented, I wondered if it was a drill; no, not at 2 in the morning... perhaps a false alarm? It keeps buzzing, at maybe 150db. I check my phone — no call from the building.

So I grab a few important items, grab scarves and a sweatshirt and head down the stairs. Floor after floor, I see no one else, until halfway down, one person joins us. At the bottom, exhausted, we meet up with a small, confused crowd; a moment later, we're out the door and into the rain.

A few dozen people are loosely gathered in front of the building, alarms blaring — making conversation difficult — not that anyone knew what was going on. No sign of a fire, however.

The Oakland Fire Department took over thirty minutes to arrive; by then, dozens more joined us in the cold, wind and rain. It takes another half-hour to determine the cause of the alarm — we were told that it came from the roof. More time passes, and the verdict is in.

It wasn't a false alarm... it was deliberate.

Some asshole pulled the alarm on floor 15 "as a joke," we were told. Firemen gave the all clear, and people started heading back up. I wasn't at all amused. Someone could have been hurt during the evac; while certainly preferable to an actual fire or emergency, the joke scared children and pets and wore me out. I'm still aching.

I hope the perpetrator/s get/s caught.