Drills For Life

by Kim Brewster

Fire drills are required for most office buildings and our building recently participated in one. We had plenty of notice by the building management so a number of folks had alternative plans on their calendars which took them out of the office. It’s still pretty warm in Austin and being without air conditioning for a few minutes is rather unbearable to some, even with the enticement of free ice cream from our local ice cream maven.

As the alarms sounded, hundreds of tenants began to make their way through the stairwells to the first floor and out of the building and I marveled at how organized and quiet it seemed. Since we are hardwired for the release of adrenaline in a threatening situation, I wondered if that same sense of calm would have prevailed had it been an actual emergency. Or would I have been in a hurry to get down the stairs and out the building? Even in this organized evacuation, I found myself lacking some patience for those who descended the stairs at a snail’s pace, or those who wore shoes more appropriate for the fashion runway. After all, we had been given notice that elevators would not be an option for exiting the building.

All in all, the drill was a success. After the drill, the lines for the elevators were a little too long for the return to work, so I headed up the stairs. 16 flights later, I was back at my office and thankful for the lessons learned.

There are things in life that do we do not get drills for or cannot adequately prepare for ahead of time. However, our EDGE training helps us keep a handle on small, large and all items and events in between.

You may not always be rewarded with ice cream, but your participation in life’s drills will often be the ultimate reward.