Everyone has their share of bad or unforgettable experiences. And I for one had one of them, with the emergency exits of a certain building. But no, this has nothing to do with those zombies chasing after me, or like those Japanese-inspired horror flicks where a long-haired, untidy with blood-shot eyes woman trying to eat my heart out. This is more realistic!
It has been SOP for all buildings to have their emergency exits in case of, well, emergencies. And we usually see these reminders posted on walls and inside elevators: “Use stairs when going to the next floor,” or something to that effect, to #1 minimize electricity cost and #2 serve as mandatory exercise for those employees adding inches to their waist due to 8-hours sitting in front of their desks. Also, most high-rise buildings designed their elevators to operate on certain floors only or what we call “express elevators” to immediately get you to your destination, especially for those occupying the higher floors.
One of our building’s elevator services floors G/F-20th only. And since we are occupying the 21st floor, we sometimes use that elevator then use the stairs to get to the 21st floor which is usually faster compared to waiting for the elevator servicing 21st floor and up. One day, I was asked by my husband to deliver a product to his customer located just across our building. It was my first time to go to that building so I assumed that they also have those express elevators. I was going to the 23rd floor but I couldn’t find one that services it. So I told myself just to use the elevator that goes up to the 21st floor then use the stairs to go the 23rd. Upon reaching the 21st floor, I exited on the emergency door then took 2 flights of stairs to the 23rd. But, lo and behold, to my amazement, the door was locked from the other side! I tried to calm my self, thinking that this might be the only floor that has locked exit door, so I tried the door on the 24th and 25th, but they were locked. I tried 3 floors down but still they were locked. Panic sets in thinking what if all floors were locked, so this means I have to make a very loud noise to be noticed, or I have to use the stairs to the ground floor! I tried to call my husband for help but there is no signal in my cellphone! I was on the 14th floor when the exit door was not locked. I casually walked inside, ignoring stares from those occupying the floor and headed to the elevator. I went to the ground floor, then this time, I did the right thing. I asked the guard how to get to my floor and he directed me on the other side where the elevators for floors from 22 and up were located.
This experience has taught me one lesson, it is better to be considered ignorant as long as you will not be trapped inside the emergency exit.
Tags: bad experience, elevators, emergency door, emergency exit, japan horror films
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.