mej619 Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 What was all that about??? Please evacuate the building.... Got out the front... Security "You can go back in now" No one knew what was going on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryno1 Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 What was all that about??? Please evacuate the building.... Got out the front... Security "You can go back in now" No one knew what was going on! Yeah,I heard a guy say it was a suspected fire. I tried to go back and tell my boyfriend and sons but they went the other way. I was surprised how quickly that all happened! Oh well,it all got sorted out in the end! I thought today was extremely well handled,and the staff were sooo nice! Thanks Showmasters! And pleaseeeeeee. If you can bring back Cary Elwes next time! He was lovely to every single fan that met him. He is lovely! x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danny_duke01 Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Apparently there was a fire in pizza express below...also when i left at 2pm pizza express was closed and shut up and said closed due to power failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Showmasters Admin showmasters Posted November 27, 2010 Showmasters Admin Share Posted November 27, 2010 There was an electrical fire at Pizza Express which triggered an evacuation alarm at one end of the building. However the fire brigade turned up quickly and sorted the problem, so by the time most of the venue had begun to leave the security decided it was safe for everyone to stay in the building. It was very inconvenient, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIDS Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 The Star Wars talk was about to start, but we all had to leave and ended up out in what looked like the back loading area. A roller shutter door raised up and a van pulled out only to be greeted by Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers with Boba Fett ! Bet he wondered what the hell was going on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leacroft Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 No direction, management, or loud tannoys announcing evacuation procedure. Having been on Fire Training courses, i have to point out to you that today's 'evacuation' was pitifully executed and i strongly suggest, this matter is looked at and taken seriously, so in the event of a real emergency, there aren't serious problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefreckles Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 (edited) As Safety Officer where I work I was also appalled at the situation (chiefly venue issues). First we knew about it was when a crew member asked us to evacuate the hall for the SW talk. No alarms, no tannoy message or anything that we could hear. She was brilliant (calm, efficient, knew where everything was) but so many other (generally non-crew) people didn't seem to know about it and/or were not taking it seriously. In the case of a real emergency, seconds can count people! You could not only be potentially putting your lives at risk, but those of the emergency services too. Perhaps crew could be a little bit firmer it if ever happens again? As long as you're not panicking, you probably won't panic other people so there's no need to worry that a firmer tone will create unwanted problems. That's been shown to work in an emergency and people will respond to it. When we got to the bottom of our exit we thought, at first, our doors were stuck as the crew couldn't get them open. One strong chap finally got one door open and then myself and another person struggled to get the other open from the outside. It took some doing! We were then left in an area where, I presume, deliveries etc. were made. The signage as to where to go was incredibly poor. I eventually picked out a poorly placed, unlit and dirty sign and told the crew member and others around me and we made our way into the car park. At first it seemed that the attendant didn't know what was up, then he gave us the all clear and told us to go back in but this hadn't filtered through elsewhere and we carried on waiting outside for a while. When we did go back in, the entrance was initially blocked further up and we started to direct people back down the stairs again when it was finally opened. Didn't leave me with a lot of confident in the safety of the building, I must admit. Biggest issue for me was the unlit exit signs outside (and all but covered up with dirt/pollution) and this was really dangerous (think potential crush etc. with people coming out and then being unsure where to go). Kudos to how most of the crew handled it in general though. However information being filtered thorough could do with being improved and there really ought to have been a designated someone in charge of that area coordinating things and letting us/other crew know what was happening 'down on the ground'. A suggestion to think about in future, perhaps? Edited November 28, 2010 by thefreckles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat in boots Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 As dealers there was no way we were leaving our stock with attendees still in the hall, so we never actually got out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidSimons Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 As dealers there was no way we were leaving our stock with attendees still in the hall, so we never actually got out. Good choice, if there had been a real problem I'm sure your family and friends would have been pleased to know that you died to save some stock. People be serious here, in a large building like that if there's a rel emergency you need to leave as quickly as possible by the nearest exit. Fire can spread very quickly and trap you. Don't stop to worry about a few items of stock, your lives are far more important!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefreckles Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 As dealers there was no way we were leaving our stock with attendees still in the hall, so we never actually got out. Am re-iterating what I said above: "In the case of a real emergency, seconds can count people! You could not only be potentially putting your lives at risk, but those of the emergency services too. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemonster Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 I was queuing for the Chris Judge photo shoot and by the time i had got back in the queue had grown enormously! Still was a chance to get an Evacuation pic complete with stormtroopers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat in boots Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 As dealers there was no way we were leaving our stock with attendees still in the hall, so we never actually got out. Good choice, if there had been a real problem I'm sure your family and friends would have been pleased to know that you died to save some stock. People be serious here, in a large building like that if there's a rel emergency you need to leave as quickly as possible by the nearest exit. Fire can spread very quickly and trap you. Don't stop to worry about a few items of stock, your lives are far more important!!! So there is some crew wandering round very sweetly asking people to leave the building without telling them why, they don,t go, but the dealers without being given an explanation should leave thousands of pounds worth of stock, their livelihoods, for the fun of it. Yes if it had been a real emergency and we had been told so we would have left, but it was a lack of communication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericsdonor Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 I was in the queue for Mercedes' photo shoot when the announcement came over the tannoy quite a few times I admit it wasn't screamingly loud but it was there and we did all hear it and move. My major gripe was that when asked by said tannoy to leave via the nearest exit when I got to the nearest exit a member of the venue staff told me I couldn't use it this happened to me twice which would have been very dangerous had it been a serious emergency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookie Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 There was an electrical fire at Pizza Express which triggered an evacuation alarm at one end of the building. However the fire brigade turned up quickly and sorted the problem, so by the time most of the venue had begun to leave the security decided it was safe for everyone to stay in the building. When I arrived there was already a notice by Pizza Express saying they were closed due to a fire - the evacuation wasn't until later, not before midday. I have to say, I was very dissapointed at the apparent lack of communication between staff on the event floor - first we were told to make our way towards one exit, but people closest to the door weren't opening it for some reason, only the be told that everything was fine and we could return. Then 10 minutes later we were told to go to another exit, and again, once congregating near it, were told to return to the event. Also - since when is it a good idea to try and herd hundreds of people to one emergency exit when there are clearly others that are closer? Please learn from this, Showmasters - I dread to think what would have happened had there been a real emergency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericsdonor Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 I had the same problem with being denied entry to TWO fire exits and being shepherded to the one nearest Pizza Express, however I believe this was the fault of the venue as it was venue staff who told me not to use those exits. Maybe there is some way that Showmasters could feed that matter back to the venue??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myself205 Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 My concern that a crew member asked us to leave but we couln't HEAR the fire alarm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avengers7 Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 We didn't hear the alarm either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leacroft Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 i must reiterate, that i never heard a fire alarm. This issue MUST be taken seriously be Showmasters. Buck passing is not excusable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Parkers-Girl Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 I only heard it cause I was near sports guests and even that was faint. People were walking round looking a bit lost wondering whether it was a real alarm or not and what they should do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leacroft Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 As dealers there was no way we were leaving our stock with attendees still in the hall, so we never actually got out. with respect Sir, that attitude is terrifyingly ill-judged, and i recommend you attend a Fire Training Course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat in boots Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 As dealers there was no way we were leaving our stock with attendees still in the hall, so we never actually got out. with respect Sir, that attitude is terrifyingly ill-judged, and i recommend you attend a Fire Training Course. But we did not know it was a fire, we were told nothing, so no it wasn't I'll judged, and it's madam not sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Williams Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 i think the reason why we weren't allowed certain fire escapes is because the celebs were using them .. and i heard someone say summit bout an evacuation then i saw a cew member walk up to another staff member whisper something then walk away .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyT Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 As dealers there was no way we were leaving our stock with attendees still in the hall, so we never actually got out. with respect Sir, that attitude is terrifyingly ill-judged Is it? Is it really? We are talking about a professional event organiser that stages events probably every other weekend. And we're talking about a dedicated venue that has events and exhibitions virtually every day of the week. And this is in London - a city not unknown for say terrorist attacks and other reasons where evacuation might be necessary. One might therefore be entitled to believe that if a full-scale evacuation is required, then a very loud and well-practised plan will roll into action. Anything less could be a malfunction, a prank, or even chinese whispers. In such circumstances, two things are likely to come to mind * this is not a real evacuation - it would be better organised than this * I'm not going to run off now and leave several thousand quids worth of stock to get nicked - for a start it won't be covered by my insurance. It might be a foolhardy attitude, and may be one that costs you your life in a real emergency, but it's entirely believable and understandable if one believes the evacuation is not genuine. One is somewhat entitled to expect these days, with the two separate driving forces of heightened security and increased litigation ever-present, that a professional venue will have a loud, clear, obvious and robust evacuation procedure. It could also be that at the time it was initially felt necessary to only evacuate part of the premises - hence some pepole being unaware of it, and then the partial was cancelled before full escalation. But even if that was the case, from some reports it seems that wasn't terribly well enacted either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowDisney Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 For the time being i'm going to lock this thread.. but pin it bring it to Showmasters attention to allow them to make comment themselves when they return from the venue, which most likely will not be until somepoint tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Showmasters Admin showmasters Posted November 29, 2010 Showmasters Admin Share Posted November 29, 2010 i must reiterate, that i never heard a fire alarm. This issue MUST be taken seriously be Showmasters. Buck passing is not excusable. hi Leacroft WE DO take every thing to do with fire alarms and security alerts very seriously indeed , and we did exactly what we were told to us by the venues security team by the book . attendees of the event may not know why we do something a certain way as they do not get to know how things are done or work but all i can say is the venues security team was very happy with the way the Showmasters staff did what they were asked. after 9/11 things are done in different ways , there was no fire alarm sent out as there was no need at this time to clear the hall quickly and we were asked to start a lo key evacuation of the hall so as not to create any drama or a stamped and as there was no real danger at this time it was handled this way . my farther was a fire officer for 20 years and i am one of a team of people that deal with the health and safety issues at the events with the events health and safety staff and i can say we all take every aspect of this VERY SERIOUSLY i hope Leacrofti and all the people that attend the shows we run now know that we look after everyone that attends all our events to the very top standard jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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