Have false fire alarms created a dangerous non-response in people?

after hearing false fire alarms over and over do you think people have become immune to the warnings they give?





i have seen people in packed malls not blink and eye when a fire alarm goes off, they just go about shopping, even with the red lights flashing.





and in apartment buildings when the alarms and the automated warning voice comes over the intercom, people dont even think once that perhaps there is a fire in the building, they just get annoyed and turn the TV up.





Do you think this is a dangerous habit for people to have?Have false fire alarms created a dangerous non-response in people?
Yes -- and I think the key word in your question is ';habit';. People learn to react to such situations based upon prior experience, and as the vast majority have never had to escape from a real fire/bomb threat situation and have only known false alarms, then they behave according to what they think the reality is. It is very similar to the ';boy who cried wolf'; mentality, combined with ';it's not my problem';...





It is a very difficult mindset to overcome. Just look at how most people in city areas react when a car alarm goes off at night outside their building (especially in places with many apartment buildings and parked cars). Basically they ignore it, believing that someone's alarm has false-triggered -- which is a boon to car thieves! Out in the country, however, where if you hear a car alarm it would likely be yours or a near-neighbor's -- the reaction is very different, so environmental factors do play a part.





I doubt that there is a viable short-term solution to this problem, but certainly, public education programs would help to change this ';it can't happen to me/I don't care'; mindset. This was part of the thinking behind road safety campaigns and their effectiveness is reflected in the drop in road accident fatalities in recent decades. But on the practical side, most building owners are wary of conducting full, surprise drills because if some customers/residents get injured in the evacuation then they might sue. True, people also might sue if there is a real emergency and the evacuation doesn't go smoothly, so it's a huge dilemma.Have false fire alarms created a dangerous non-response in people?
Yes - its almost as if we generally regard the sound of alarms as a nuisance noise rather than an important alert.





I agree that laziness has made us believe alarms to be false rather than take the time to check it out.





Everyone needs to become aware of basic fire safety within their buildings.

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Yes, I think they do...


It is kind of like ';the boy who cried wolf';


You can get conditioned when you here these alarms all the time.


Conditioned not to respond.
Yes, I think it is very dangerous. You never know if the alarm is pulled, a drill, or if it is real and everytime a fire alarm goes off it should be taken seriously. People ignoring it has caused deaths and it could have been prevented if they didn't think it was another ';false alarm.'; False alarms do not harm people, they help a person be calm during an alarm and also know what they need to do to get out safely.