False Alarm

“Old Folks Home”

The second observed false fire alarm at the “old folks home” occurred yesterday. The automatic fire alarm is triggered after it senses smoke in the enclosed hallways. Both observations occurred in the afternoon circa 5pm. In both cases, the cause of the false alarm was a “little old lady” cooking with the apartment door open on the second floor.

One of the old codgers mentioned that the problem is always someone cooking with the doors open. He also stated that the some of the “little old ladies” can’t see the settings on the electric range in the apartment, so they end up burning the food. The resident manager had previously advised some of the people to stop cooking entirely, but to no avail.

According to one of the younger old codgers, the false fire alarms are a regular occurrence, usually every two weeks. The culprit is always the same “little old lady” on the second floor. The incidents keep occurring even though the resident manager had several discussions with the “little old lady.”

Whenever the fire alarm is triggered, the residents of the “old folks home” are required to walk down the stairs and exit the building. Using the elevator is prohibited. Many of the senior citizens use walkers or are in wheelchairs or motorized chairs. They could be seen standing and looking out the pane glass windows near the elevators on each floor. A fear emergency would have resulted in many casualties or fatalities.

Of course, the incidents collectively represent the sad aspect known as “senior moments.” Remaining in the “old folks home” will only accelerate personal “senior moments,” a fear that cannot be abated. People will always become a product of their environment.