Fire alarms don't work if no one responds to them

Published Aug. 22, 2007
97th AMW Public Affairs

ALTUS AFB -- -- When a fire alarm sounds, your first reaction should be to get out as quickly as possible. This wasn't the case when the fire department conducted random tests at some buildings on base. The required time to completely evacuate is three minutes. To put this into perspective, a free burning fire is out the window after seven minutes.
The next time a fire alarm goes off in your building, take the initiative to evacuate and call 911. If there's a real fire pull the fire alarm, call 911, use a fire extinguisher if it's a small fire and evacuate.