The Palaceside Building’s autumn comprehensive fire drill was held on November 19, with more than 100 people taking part in training on the roof. The drills have long been run twice a year, in spring and autumn, in conjunction with the nationwide fire-prevention campaigns, but they were repeatedly canceled because of the pandemic. This was the first drill in fully two years. To limit infection risk, numbers were smaller than usual; everyone wore a mask and kept their distance.
The exercise began at 2:30 p.m. on the assumption of an earthquake measuring upper 6 on the Japanese intensity scale. After initial-response practice such as taking cover under desks, participants followed in-building announcements and evacuated beyond the tenant floors. Once assembled on the roof, they practiced discharging water with extinguishers and indoor hydrants, and life-saving drills using an automated external defibrillator (AED).
A Tokyo Fire Department VR disaster-experience vehicle was also stationed in front of the west entrance. More than 100 people, four at a time, felt images and shaking as they simulated wind and flood disasters.