AIBU about supermarket fire drill?

[mangoespadrille]

Walked into Asda this morning with DD 3 months in pram. It's the type where the ground floor is the car park and the actual store is upstairs. Got in the lift and started going up, when it suddenly stopped and the fire alarm was going off. Eventually it started moving back down and opened on the ground floor again, but not before I'd started to freak out a little bit about the prospect of being trapped in a lift in an emergency with my DD.

I later returned to the store, turned out to have been a planned drill that was announced on the tannoy just before I entered the store. AIBU to think if they're going to do this then a staff member should be stopping unsuspecting people entering the lift? Or am I overreacting? Hard to judge when you're suffering from anxiety so thanks in advance. I'm in two minds whether to make a complaint.

I had just parked at a shopping centre and was walking to the lift when the fire alarms went off.

The announcements said not to return to your car but exit at the first available exit.

I had DS2 in a pushchair, so I asked someone for help, as the lifts weren't working.

He helped me to the first floor, then told me I could then get the escalator the rest of the way, and ran down the rest of the stairs.

The escalators weren't working either.

That's my issue Carly - it just seems totally unnecessary.

I hate the Ashington store - it feels cramped at the best of times, let alone during a drill.

Just saw it wasn't Ashington

I kind of want to go to Ashington now.

Where is Ashington? I thought I was well travelled.

How to survive a lift fall.

www.livescience.com/33445-how-survive-falling-elevator.html

It's in the NE - north of Newcastle, it's a mining town. It's in a wonderful location, but doesn't have a lot going on there. You're not missing much, imo, by not going

Ashington is a depressing, down at heel town in Northumberland.

"I'f it's a drill the same measure should be in place for a calm evacuation and stop people from entering the store."

Stopping people from entering the store defeats the purpose. I doubt if store fires only occur when the store is empty. A fire drill should replicate the normal activities of the store.

Thus was a test, not a drill, so no need to keep it realistic. If they made an announcement in store they should have stopped people going into the lifts. I'd get in touch and ask them to change their procedures.

Lifts are supposed to return to the ground floor in the event of a fire so at least it's working.

I agree Finlaggan - but what happens if the fire is on the ground floor?

I've filled in the survey on tellasda.com

Will update when/if they get back to me.

Typically lifts are tied into the fire alarm and return to the ground (or another designated floor) as it's usually the entrance to the shop meaning the user knows how to get out.

It also stops people getting in at other floors & causing mayhem, potentially sending people towards a fire

it allows fire fighters to use the lift if they need to and lets them know no one is trapped in the lift (if it didn't return to the ground floor they wouldn't know).

It is deemed to be the safest solution in the event of a fire.

This is from my limited knowledge and of course may be totally wrong