False Alarm
By Caroline
We got to the hotel in Wollogong, south of Sydney, at about 3 pm. We watched an episode of the Simpsons and then went for a walk to find a place for dinner.
When we returned to the room after dinner a man from the front desk reminded us that this hotel had very sensitive fire alarms. He said even steam from the shower would set it off. He told us to be careful while showering and to be sure to close the door tight.
We nodded and headed upstairs.
I was really tired because we had been on the road for about three weeks and that always tires me out no matter how much sleep I get. I fell into a wonderful sleep. I was so warm and cozy. The bed was comfortable and I had three pillows all to myself.
But before long I was awakened by a loud beeping. I woke up and groaned. I thought it was a car alarm going off — but it kept going. Soon the whole family was awake.
Someone started banging on the door and my dad answered in his underwear (I felt bad for the man on the other side of the door). The man told us that the fire alarm was going off and we had to evacuate. I yelled “BUT IT’S 3 AM!!”
Apparently this didn’t matter so we walked down the fire escape stairs. (I always have the urge to this do when there is no fire just to see if an alarm actually will go off like the door says it will.)
We stood outside in the freezing cold in just our pajamas waiting for the fire engine (Thank god my dad remembered to put on some pants.) Most people looked cranky but one large Japanese tour group looked like they were having the time of their lives.
Finally the fire truck came. If I had a chance of falling back to sleep before it was totally gone now. The sirens were so loud and the flashing lights made me cover my eyes.
The firemen seemed bored and unconcerned. I guess they are used to false alarms from this hotel. They quickly checked too see if an actual fire caused the alarm to go off. After about ten minutes they said there was no fire and we could go back to bed.
This left me with a question… Who takes a shower at 3 am?
11 months ago • 0 notes