... gaze in awe and record it for Instagram?
I don’t know who needs to read this - and it’s probably not anyone I know - but having seen so many clips from the tragic accident at Crans-Montana in Switzerland this new year…
IF THERE IS A FIRE — GET OUT. EVACUATE. IMMEDIATELY.
Ignoring that the circumstances are so reminiscent of The Station nightclub fire, and the venue operator could have done a lot more to prevent it (and indeed is probably ultimately responsible for the deaths and injuries of so many) - I cannot believe the number of people still dancing, and watching and recording the fire as molten plastics drip from the ceiling.
GET OUT. that’s all.
Even in venues I’ve been responsible for, our own staff fire procedures are always to evacuate when there’s a confirmed fire. If it’s later extinguished people can maybe be readmitted but also unless you’re confident and have had some training to assess the likelihood of success - don’t attempt to fight it.
Buildings are insured, sure it would be annoying to see a space I care about whether it be a temporary venue, hotel function suite, exhibition hall, or theatre burn to the ground but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter. We can rebuild any of them.
We seem to have got to some point in humanity’s history where social media or the obsession to record everything and every experience has somehow overrode the basic instinct to get the hell away from a fire! - and that’s terrifying.
And please, if you find yourself in this situation and everyone around you is an inept idiot, take control of the moment. If you start barking instructions like “everyone this way, get out, follow me” everyone will, even if you don’t work there and have no authority. They probably won’t realise and by the time they do, they’ll be safe.