Fire Alarm turned off at local business?
 

I was at the Tuscany Day Spa at Sumter Landing this morning ... a long awaited visit! I was brought via elevator to the 2nd floor for the services when I arrived.

The setting was very serene, calming music, fragrances, etc., and my treatment was wonderful, but when I left the ladies locker room and headed back to the elevator to leave, I was re-directed by one of the employees down the stairs on the outside of the bldg in the back.

Fire truck outside, Firemen throughout ... spa employees apologizing for the inconvenience. At first I thought wow, what good timing that I was able to finish my treatment, but when I mentioned that I had not heard any alarms, I was told by an employee that the sound is turned off for the 2nd floor - that it was actually very loud on floor 1.

The more I thought about this, the more upset I became since I was basically on my own in the sauna and locker room for a while after my treatment was done.

Anyone else see a problem with this?

Beside Toscany's customers neitht eh fire dept nor the insurance company are going to be too keene about that information

Worth a mention to the fire department. We've all heard and read the horrible headlines of those caught in fires unnecessarily. You don't want to be the one thinking 'If only I'd said something'. If everything is in fact okay, then you did nothing wrong. Win, win.

I agree with Parker about contacting the fire department, and I would also send an e-mail/letter to the owner of Tuscany. I have been to Tuscany a few times while visiting TV, and I plan on going back to Tuscany during my upcoming visit to TV, and this kind of news is not welcome to me. If you do decide to contact the fire department and/or the owner of Tuscany, please post on TOTV what answer(s) you receive.

It is a violation of the state fire code to turn off any part of a fire alarm inside a commercial business. The law requires an annual inspection of the fire alarm. The fire inspector would not be happy with the business. It is also a severe liability to the business to allow such gross negligence.

Are you sure it was a fire?
 

Here is my view. Was it a fire alarm or were they there for something else like illness or personal injury??????.Fire trucks come for medical reasons only here as well as fire.

People who don't know are constantly telling me things that are not correct around these parts.

We do RUMORS here better than any place I have EVER lived.

I could be wrong. I often am.

Once again, good point Grace.

The reason the fire dept was there is not relevant. Most likely the alarm would have gone off prior to the fire department even arriving.

The fire alarm in the building was going off and wasn't able to be heard on the second floor since it was shut off. It could have gone off accidentally and been a false alarm. The point is, if it was a real emergency, those on the second floor may not have been aware of the emergency. Every second counts in such an emergency, especially for senior citizens.

Ya got to admit, it is easier to complain than look for the reason why.

Perhaps i am wrong but the OP never said anything about a fire and frankly only said that a fire truck and fire employees at the Spa and when she asked if an alarm went off the spa employee alerted her to the fact that it was turned off which in turn surprised the OP. some of you are reading too much into this thread. I said on post two neither the fired dept/inspectorn nor the insurance company would be please. Cut the OP some slack

Ditto. Doesn't make a hill of beans why they were called. They are breaking the law and putting people in danger.

I misunderstood completely. I didn't get that ANYONE heard an alarm. I was going by the fact that the elevator didn't work and that the people on the second floor were asked to use the fire escape which could have happened for other reasons, such as a break in the electricity or someone collapsed in the elevator.

If the fire alarm was going off on the first floor and I was told it was turned off on the second, I wouldn't post here, I would bring it to the attention of the proper authorities. The OP was outside? It wasn't clear to me that she HEARD the fire alarm.

It is my understanding that ONE ALARM sounding should activate all alarms in the building. I would think that is a violation with the fire code. They may be loud and noisy when they go off when nobody is really in need of an emergency-but would you want to be that ONE person trapped upstairs with no notification of an emergency downstairs? I wouldn't and I think it should be addressed with the fire department and the owner- how else would you know that the owner addressed the problem? Better to be safe for all of us who support our local stores!

Ok, I know I am going to upset a few, but I do not see this as a problem. It is not like the OP was in a 20 story building and no way to notify her to evacuate. Apparently They had a plan in place to notify customers. They were personally there to escort the OP out. My work place has fire alarms throughout the building and occasionally our system goes out, but we have a plan with walkie talkies and contacts through out the building to notify everyone in case of emergency. I would hope this business knowing their alarm was out on the second floor also had a plan. Apparently, they did.

P.S. Maybe the fire dept was made aware earlier. We always call them if ours goes out.

Well it is a problem. Whether it is a 20 story or 2 story the alarms are meant as an immediate notification of a possible emergency and a need to evacuate. Many companies have evacuation monitors whose responsibility is to make sure everyone gets out of the building, in an emergency, AFTER an audible alarm has been sounded.

The OP stated that an employee told her, that the alarms were very loud on the first floor...but silent on the second floor.

Does it really matter....why they went off? :oops:


I would be letting the Fire Marshall know about it, before someone gets hurt.

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You are exactly right...it IS a problem. :thumbup:

I am surprised, that anyone would make excuses for the business.

Or maybe I'm not. :rolleyes:

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I don't know if the OP was clear, but if the words in the post are accurate I don't see what the conjecture might be. Apparently a loud alarm occurred on the first floor. This alarm went off at least several minutes before the OP left the locker room on her own as the fire trucks had already arrived. She never heard the alarms. Not only did she not hear an alarm but she was advised they were apparently deliberately turned off. No one came to advise her that there was an event. When she independently went to take the elevators someone redirected her to the stairs. This suggests that for emergency purposes the elevator was shut down. If the spa's emergency plan is to wait for people to come to the elevator then send them down the stairs that could leave people elsewhere on the second floor unaware of a fire. No idea what the Florida Fire Prevention Code may require if anything for this particular business. But the fire marshal will know.

I was also @ Tuscany Spa, on the second floor during the "fire alarm". I came out of the ladies room, heading for the elevator when I was approached by an employee saying that I could not use the elevator because it was "beeping" and she was unsure why. I heard it beeping, but that was the only thing I did hear at that time. I was then escorted out the back upper level door onto the back porch. As soon as I went out the door, I heard the loud, shrill sound of a fire alarm going off. I thought that the elevator alarm was going off way ahead of the fire alarm ,but it never entered my mind that the alarm was shut off upstairs. I was escorted all the way down the steps and then into the front door to pay for my service. The girls at the counter were making phone calls to the owner, the fire dept had already been alerted. They were making their plan to get the building evacuated. There was a lady upstairs with a broken foot that they were concerned about. By the time I walked out the front door to leave, the fire dept was already there. Great response time...it was certainly less than 10 min.

The firetruck comes for ALL emergencies was my point, NOT just for fires. It was first to respond in our neighborhood to a 911 call for illness.

It is a part of the EMS, first responders. I have never heard a fire alarm anywhere in any business in TV. I didn't know the Tuscany Spa had a second floor.

I think the SIMPLE answer is that the OP should call the fire department and tell them that she was told that the alarm system is NOT working on the second floor and that she was told it was turned off.

And then anyone who goes there tell the manager shame on you and see what he/she says.

The Villages Public Safety Dept and Fire inspector are investigating.

The fire truck was NOT there for a medical emergency. Fire dept personnel was in full fire gear, and we could not re-enter the bldg (to pay) until we got a clearance from them.

Please with all the noise on this thread don't let go of the basic offense. Fire alarms placed at strategic points are done so for specific reasons. The safety inspection passed was based on the satisifaction that ample audio alarm were in place that would immediately detect the presence of smoke/fire/heat. the insuranc company also insured this building for the same reason. By the bldg owners action of disabling that second floor alarm system the bldg owner was in violation of the safety rules and the contract they signed with their insurer. Most importantly if a fire had ensued and if customers were not alerted because the alarm was disabled then an injury or death that occurred would take on at minimum gross negligence which would make the bldg owner liable for punitive damages.

when our fire alams go off at work they continue to sound and strobe untill the all clear is given...the fire is out...and i don't care where you are you can hear them..

At my office we have about 4 practice fire drills a year. The fire alarms are very loud in my office. My job is to check the ladies room to make sure no one is in there and to tell them to get out. All employees have to meet at a designated spot in our office parking lot, and we are timed to see how fast we evacuate the office. If an employee refuses to leave during a fire drill, that person and their supervisor will hear about it from the corporate manager of safety.

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Not to be contrary, but when you start a response like above, why would we think yours is anything other than another rumor ???

Just asking....

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Hey folks, this is not worth fighting about. An incident happened, whatever it was, and was taken care of.

It is worth it, that's why I read this stuff. Love the holier than thou dynamic from both ends of the spectrum coming together to educate each other. :clap2:

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Can you substantiate what you just said? Because I did a google search for it and only came up with the OP's post--nothing about the sprinkler testing. How do you know for sure it was just the sprinklers being tested? Is there some record you looked at?

Despite the sarcasm of the last paragraph aimed at the OP (not appreciated), your information sounds like hearsay.

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Don't you just love the holier than thou's who are holier than those who are holier than thou? Geeeezzzzz what a country

Las Vegas, huh? I 'd bet the neighbors didn't like that smoke.

:22yikes::swear::swear:

When people drop from the blue into a discussion, I wonder what blue?


I also have read this whole thread and didn't see anyone trying to be holier than thou.


All I can see is that people are trying to get to the truth of the situation.

Or protesting too much. I am a card carrying mom and I know "protesting too much.".

Speaking of "putting fires out," it seems to me that you're working very hard at trying to discredit the OP.

To just state, "....I'm sure everything was taken care of.".....without any substantiation, makes me think the OP was dead on in her observation of her experience.

Hopefully, the business is doing everything possible to correct the situation.

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Just so you know, you should never take the elevator if there is even a chance of a fire. :22yikes:

I agree. Elevators are iffy even under normal circumstances. Who's to say they would really return to the first floor if the smoke alarm above them were beeping?

Every hotel I've ever been in says not to take the elevator if a fire alarm is going off.

I agree.

They definitely have their ups and downs.



:D



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