The autumn comprehensive fire drill of the joint fire- and disaster-prevention management council of all Palaceside Building tenants was held recently on the roof and elsewhere.
In front of the west entrance, an “earthquake experience vehicle” (once called a “shake car”) borrowed from Chiyoda Ward let people feel an intensity-7 shake (photo above).
The drill is a twice-yearly fixture timed to the national fire-prevention campaigns each spring and autumn (this time November 9–15). It was held on Friday, November 17. 454 people from 95 tenant and building-related companies and groups took part.
At 2:30 p.m. a building announcement assuming “an upper-
6 earthquake has occurred” started the drill. First steps: shelter under desks, check fire sources when shaking stops, emergency inspection and a grasp of damage. Then a fire on the eighth floor was assumed to be spreading; an evacuation advisory was broadcast, and people actually evacuated to the ground via emergency stairs and other routes.
After that they gathered again on the roof and each tried items from a prepared menu that they wanted to try.
Fire drills mean water.
There were two options — full indoor-hydrant discharge (photo at left above) and initial extinguishing with a fire extinguisher (photo at left) — and some people did both.
They also worked hard at first-aid with triangular bandages (photo at right) and feeling the weight of a stretcher (photo at right below).
The “earthquake experience vehi
cle” is a staple of this drill. Intensity rises gradually; around lower 5 there is still slack (first of the sequential photos below), but at upper 6 you can only cling to a desk (second). At 7 the shake can blow you off if you let go, and cries that were neither scream nor cheer rang out from young and old (third).
It was evening, and nearby high-school students passing on the way home jumped in and raised even higher voices.
The Palaceside Building will keep working steadily at drills toward a safe, secure building.
