I am new to this forum and have been interested in Fire Alarm systems especially Manual Pull Stations and FACPs.
A lot of people have pulled fire alarms as a prank but not too many share when they used it for a real reason. I have actually discovered two fires in my life once when I was 11 and the other when I was 14 and both were with my Parents. I would love to share the stories here and ask some questions about why the Alarm did not work the first time I tried it.
The first fire I discovered my Mom and I were walking outside a building and we both smelled smoke. I remember asking my Mom why the Fire Alarm was not sounding and that one of us should pull it. My Mom said you can pull it and I will go with you just in case you need my help.
So we went to the Fire Alarm and it said to Break The Glass and Pull the Handle Down. I was looking for a hammer but could not find one. Why is i that the hammer was missing? I decided to kick the glass as I did not have anything to break it with. Was it normal for my Mom to help me to keep my balance as I kicked the Glass. She also took some kicks too to help.
When the glass was broken I went to pull the handle and I first tried pulling it straight down but it would not budge. My Mom tried it too. So I tried pulling the Handle out towards me and then Down. The interesting part was the handle did go down but the alarm did not sound so I pulled it further down but for some reason it stopped half way and then it allowed me to pull the handle the rest of the way down. Why did this happen with the lever? I thought it would just go down and that was it. I wonder if any other people would have the same trouble we were having.
I then asked if I should pull a second alarm and my Mom said yes. Was it Ok to pull more than one fire alarm in a fire?
Then second fire I was with my Mom again( a coincidence) and she said you did a good job in the last fire you can pull it. This fire alarm was a Simplex Pull Station and when I pulled it down the first time why did the lever spring back up? Did I not pull it well the first time? I noticed on this alarm the handle would let you pull it almost until it locked down and it would stay and let you pull it the rest of the way down. Why was this?
If you had any experiences pulling a fire alarm in a fire please share them with me. Was it normal for my Mom to go with me and help me? Would you do the same with your son? I read the directions out loud before doing it was this a good move to read it out loud? Was it also normal that my Mom helped me to remain calm?
Thanks for your tips on my two situations. I really felt like a hero and it was really cool to be able to pull the fire alarm for a legit reason with my Mom there to keep me calm etc.