Something today almost freaked me out.
I left my office on one of the top floors of the Enterprise Center with plans just to buy lunch and eat it on my desk while continuing to work. 15 minutes tops was all I needed.
I went to the Food Park, bought a burger and dessert, then entered the elevator. It was one of those few times when I had the elevator to myself. Great, I thought to myself. It was an express ride to my floor!
As the elevator reached my floor, I suddenly heard the building’s alarm go off. And worse, the elevator’s arrow suddenly began to point down. I was being brought down against my will by the elevator! And I did not have the faintest idea what was going on outside as I heard the alarms all the way down. During what seemed like eternity, I remember thinking of the movie I had just watched on HBO the other night. It was about the policemen who were trapped when the World Trade Center collapsed. And they were caught where else? The elevator shaft!!!!! Chills ran down my spine!!!
At the mezzanine level, a security man all dressed in neon orange overalls met me and gestured to quickly get out of the building. I followed the growing crowd of employees outside. As we stepped out into the bright noon sunlight, I saw some smoke billowing out of what looked like the Food Park. Did someone’s kitchen catch fire after I left there? Then I saw what seemed like water bursting out of a hose alongside the smoke. Geeeezzzz!
I walked to an outdoor parking lot and looked towards the direction of the smoke and water.
A huge tarpaulin was hung outside the mezzanine level of the building. I missed it on my way to work as it was not facing the area where I was usually dropped off.
What did the tarpaulin say?
My 15-minute lunch became almost an hour-long one. But on the flip side of it all, I got to witness our building’s security people coordinate with the Makati firemen and emergency crew. We were treated to a demo of rescue drills that included rappeling down the building’s side and practicing putting out a raging fire with extinguishers. As I went back to my office, I felt that in a real emergency situation, I was probably safer in this building as everyone seemed well coordinated and safety was a paramount concern.
And, as my desk neighbor kidded later, “You were meant to blog about it!” 🙂
Here are some photos I took with my trusty camera phone: