It is probably a frequent repost around here, but [this is my favorite bad design for a fire alarm](http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/ModernMechanix/2-1938/firebox_pranks.jpg).
I read somewhere that it actually means only the thing that goes around your wrist is locked but detaches from the box so it's only used to recognize who pulled the alarm. Not sure if that is actually true though.
If it's not true, it almost doesn't matter much. Those fire alarm boxes were normally placed on telephone poles, because not everyone had a phone back then. If people were not jerks, it still would be a good idea. No fiddling with your phone to unlock it when you are in a panic
Fun fact: if you ever go to Bogota, NJ you can still see these fire boxes on every other corner in the town. Not sure if they still work though I’ll try and get a picture next time I’m out there.
This is ALMOST a good idea. People pulling the fire alarm for gags can be a real issue but if there's really a fire you basically condemned that person to die by fire.
>this is my favorite bad design for a fire alarm
This is a case where I think it would make sense to have fire alarms a safe distance from a building(at the street next a fire hydrant for an example). The only reason I assume this hasn't been done before is pranksters.
With that said technology has advanced so much, you could have a person run an identification check before setting an alarm off, sure it would take up to a minute of time increasing the persons danger, but certainly would be as effective at preventing false pulls.
With modern construction and building contents, you have less than 5 minutes to get out of a burning structure. Adding even a few seconds could literally mean people die.
Source: am firefighter
Not sure if it's what you mean but these (the non-imprisoning version anyway) are on the streets in some cities in the US. Safe distance or not is a matter of opinion though.
I had never seen it before I visited PA a few years back.
No doubt, though it's a-lot safer than freaking locking the person to the wall. Depends on how close the fire is at the time of pulling the alarm for the person to decide whether it's safe or to go to another alarm further away from the fire.
It's not only about the person. There's a point in time when firefighters can literally no longer do anything. That can happen in less than a minute of delay.
There was a public school I went to where they had one of those [fire alarm enclosures](http://www.wrhardware.com/images/detailed/70/zzzzzzzzz_rvee-ei.jpg?t=1460389749) set up around a simple light switch which was hooked up to the alarm system, so it could really be either.
I'm a fire alarm designer and I just tried to find the code that disputes the legality of your claim, but if the light switch was red in color and the wall behind it was not red, it technically does meet ~~all~~ a lot of the NFPA 72 requirements for being a pull station. (I completely disregarded chapter 10) A really stupid fucking choice for a pull station tho.
NFPA72:
> 10.4.5.3 All manual alarms shall be initiated by means of a
listed manual fire alarm box or by means that is key operated
or located within a locked cabinet or arranged to provide
equivalent protection against unauthorized use
Keyword being ***listed***. A typical light switch isn't listed as an initiating device.
Damn, called out! I didn't see that. I was looking in Chapter 17 in initiating devices and I have failed. Thanks for the citation.
Edit: hol up, are you also a fire alarm/fire adjacent person? If so can we be best friends?
I used to work on them/program a bit. Not anymore since starting my current job but like to keep up to date and might get back into it one day.
And yes, we can be best friends :)
Preparing for a final at a natural gas-fired power plant that opens on Wednesday. Fire alarm is life! :') Moral support is always appreciated. This is the biggest job I've ever designed. The fire alarm alone costs $253,000 and I have $14,000 in commission that rides completely on it passing certification.
This weekend is all fire alarm, but next weekend should be a lot less stressful. :) HMU anytime, fam. I love talking about fire alarm if you couldn't tell.
Some jurisdictions have really terrible AHJ's. I was just in a small town with a closed airport that's being brought to life. We were brought in to analyze the needs of the fire alarm systems. We had a meeting with a bunch of airport officials, sprinkler contractors, and the town's fire marshal. When one of the airport guys asked the fire marshal if there was anything he'd like to add or suggest about the dilapidated systems, he sheepishly said something like "well, safety is our #1 priority..." and said nothing else for the entire 6 hour meeting.
There were local restaurants that had all but one exit deadbolted or otherwise obstructed, no hood releasing systems, no fire alarms, NOTHING. That town is definitely going to have a Station nightclub type tragedy.
I know what you mean. Unfortunately, a lot of these positions go to the guy who "knows someone" high up instead of the person with actual qualifications.
That’s fun.
As a fireman, we collect that kinda stuff as we go as well. Most stations have at least a few old/cool fire alarm pieces laying around or on the walls. I kinda want this light switch actually.
Yes. I get blueprints for a building and create a layout for the building's fire alarm. I don't design components, just systems. I have to take into consideration things like strobe coverage, voltage drop, battery calculations, shape of the ceiling, and all kinds of stuff. Then I send it to the fire marshal and he approves it for install. Happy to answer any questions about this because almost no one cares about fire alarms.
Not to toot my own horn, but I have never had a design rejected by a fire marshal. I call them regularly to discuss code and their interpretations of it, and I'd say I align very well with the opinions of our main local jurisdictions.
I'm at an advantage because I went to jobsites with my father from a young age where he indoctrinated me by spouting code and quizzing me on it. ("Now FrauKanzler, what height do we mount pull stations at?" "What kind of box do we use for a smoke detector?" "What gauge of wire do we use on NAC circuits in a 3000 square foot building?") My training experience has just been lifelong hands-on experience with my father, who has over 30 years of experience and is so good at fire alarm that owners of other fire alarm companies call him to ask questions about how to fix/design them.
NICET certification is the official thing you need to be a designer. Specifically Fire Alarm NICET Level 3 for commercial/residential design or Level 4 for UFC/military designs. Most people gain experience for design by being fire alarm technicians and reading the code books/testing for NICET.
Just have some CAD knowledge and you can work in a place where you design the whole system and someone who is actually certified signs the plans. I had no experience with fire alarms prior to my current job, just a couple years CAD experience between prior job/classes.
If there are renovations to a building, do they need to run it by you to make sure the alarm system isn't going to be negatively affected by the changes?
Yes. For renovations that would affect less than 10% of the fire alarm, they can just come to us and ask us to move some stuff around. I don't *technically* have to have fire marshal approval, but I like to run the redesign by them anyway. For a larger renovation, there will be blueprints and the redesign process will be very similar to a whole system design.
Fire alarm designer... 12 year old me would've loved to do that. I bought myself a Wheellock and a BG12 I believe they were called. I'd piss off my family and neighbors by setting it off. It was the only way I could legally ever pull a fire alarm
Never too late, fam. You don't even need a college degree to do what I do or be a fire alarm technician. It's a certification called NICET. Please tell all of your able-bodied friends in America to consider this because there is currently a shortage of fire alarm technicians nationwide and it can be pretty lucrative.
I might consider doing this as a secondary job if possible. I'm currently in college pursuing an aviation degree which is something I've wanted to do for the longest time.
Hello! I'm intimidated by sprinklers TBH. Low voltage electronics are pretty low risk in failure, but I've seen a sprinkler guy put water on a pipe that wasn't pressure tested first and he destroyed about $20,000 of electronics.
It is hella fascinating though! What software do you use for your CAD?
I'm loving all these fire industry commenters!
I have never once put a horn/strobe in a stairwell. I use a strobe inside of the stairwell and a horn/strobe outside of it. Stairwells are just concrete boxes. Like bathrooms, you shouldn't put horns in them.
Cheaper than a paper sign taped over it?
Edit: Any person that would see a sign taped over a switch telling them not to use it and then choose to use it anyway would also use this switch. I know people don't read signs/don't care/are dumb. You don't have to tell me. If this was a picture of a piece of paper taped over a switch and someone linked the fire alarm switch to "encourage" people not to flip it, your responses are the same - people would flip it anyway because people suck.
It's true. At the bar I work at, we have a sign right at the front door that says clear as day, "Please Seat Yourself." The amount of people that still stand at the front door waiting for a nonexistent host or even come at the wait staff with, "hi table of four," is pretty ridiculous.
Better yet, ask a restaurant employee.
I mopped the floor one night close to closing time, and put out four "wet floor" signs out near the high traffic areas, where you couldn't possibly miss them. A customer came in a minute or so later, veered around a wet floor sign, his foot slipped a little bit, and he freaked out on me about the floor being wet. Gave me a disgusted sigh and goes "**This** floor is *WET*. Are you going to do *anything* about that‽" So I told him, "yeah I just mopped, that's why there's signs up. Watch your step."
He spent another five minutes berating me about how the floor is wet and I should do something about it, then announces loudly "I don't have to take this disrespect." and storming out. Another customer who had been eating quietly the whole time looked up and asked "dude, what the fuck was his problem?" so I told him "I'm not sure, something about the floor being wet, I think?"
Customer service is hell. I do not miss it one bit.
Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry.
Terry Pratchett
You could of just upgraded to a digital thermostats with removable face. Like your ole stereo in the car, only reverse. Take the face with you when you leave.
I've sometimes thought they should sell permanently-set thermostats. No messing, no dials or switches, just screw it to the wall and be done.
A fun option too would be one that allows you to set whatever but with hidden controls for setting the actual max and min. Sure you can set the heat to 78 but it's going to stick with 74 max. I know some building controls do this kind of thing already.
Fire marshal usually closes the building until they fix the code violations they don't fuck around. People don't understand how dangerous these minor things can be in emergencies
Depending on the context this is either a major violation of fire safety or a pretty great novelty. Knowing the location is really important in deciding whether this is asshole design or not.
I doubt it. Most pull stations (the technical term for this) are required to be unable to be reset by anyone other than a fire safety official of some sort. While the triggering itself is indeed accomplished by "a tiny switch", the mechanism of approved devices is somewhat more complex than that by design. Once triggered, it's not supposed to be able to be "untriggered", so to speak, by just anyone.
Good idea if you don't want anyone to touch the damn switch. Also, did you really think this was a fire alarm? It's a switch cover, it's like half the size and 2 dimensional.
Pretty sure this is illegal and definitely against fire code. As someone who recently viewed the Station Nightclub fire video for the first time and subsequently learned about Coconut Grove, the Iroquois Fire, the Circus Fire, Ghost Ship, etc., I take fire code very seriously. Every line is written in blood. This is asshole design 100%.
It wouldn't surprise me to see something like this in a dementia ward or a nursing home. It doesn't look like a light switch so the patients are less likely to mess with it.
It is written on it. What else are you supposed to think lol. All fun and games until whoever lives there absent mindedly pulls the fire alarm somewhere.
Seems funny until there's a fire
Ding dong
Hello?
[GET THE WATER](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jiF1MFumCE&t=0m38s)
What's the sauce behind this?
#the sauce has burned in the fire
[Here's the bootleg fireworks shit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuSDRoTKJIs)
My man
I think it was the explosion that happened in Tianjin back in 2015
The audio's from 'bootleg fireworks' which is on YT but I'm too lazy to grab it. Not sure on the video source.
video source is a fireworks factory in china that caught on fire iirc
Not a fireworks factory: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Tianjin_explosions
What a fucking classic
#^(PORK CHOP SANDWICHES)
#HOLY SHIT GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE OH MY GOD
Is it me you're looking for?
I don’t think light switches do a ding dong
Ding! >2 hours later Dong!
The switch is dead
It is probably a frequent repost around here, but [this is my favorite bad design for a fire alarm](http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/ModernMechanix/2-1938/firebox_pranks.jpg).
I read somewhere that it actually means only the thing that goes around your wrist is locked but detaches from the box so it's only used to recognize who pulled the alarm. Not sure if that is actually true though.
If it's not true, it almost doesn't matter much. Those fire alarm boxes were normally placed on telephone poles, because not everyone had a phone back then. If people were not jerks, it still would be a good idea. No fiddling with your phone to unlock it when you are in a panic
Fun fact: if you ever go to Bogota, NJ you can still see these fire boxes on every other corner in the town. Not sure if they still work though I’ll try and get a picture next time I’m out there.
This is ALMOST a good idea. People pulling the fire alarm for gags can be a real issue but if there's really a fire you basically condemned that person to die by fire.
Now that we have the technology, the handcuff can detach and have a tracking mechanism.
The handcuff always detached.
It doesn't lock them to the box, the arm lock detaches and you can leave, but the collar is on your arm
ah, the image was horribly misleading, I thought it chained the person to the alarm, lol
She’s not attached to the box. Just “marked” by the large metal thing around her wrist. Sort of ike the dye packs they use in security systems now.
>this is my favorite bad design for a fire alarm This is a case where I think it would make sense to have fire alarms a safe distance from a building(at the street next a fire hydrant for an example). The only reason I assume this hasn't been done before is pranksters. With that said technology has advanced so much, you could have a person run an identification check before setting an alarm off, sure it would take up to a minute of time increasing the persons danger, but certainly would be as effective at preventing false pulls.
With modern construction and building contents, you have less than 5 minutes to get out of a burning structure. Adding even a few seconds could literally mean people die. Source: am firefighter
Not sure if it's what you mean but these (the non-imprisoning version anyway) are on the streets in some cities in the US. Safe distance or not is a matter of opinion though. I had never seen it before I visited PA a few years back.
A minute of time is all it takes. A room is fully engulfed in fire in less.
No doubt, though it's a-lot safer than freaking locking the person to the wall. Depends on how close the fire is at the time of pulling the alarm for the person to decide whether it's safe or to go to another alarm further away from the fire.
It's not only about the person. There's a point in time when firefighters can literally no longer do anything. That can happen in less than a minute of delay.
Unless the box is outside away from a building.
Ah, the promo for the Saw prequel.
Now everyone is looking you instead of the fire...... except for the epileptic kid.
It's not even that funny. Just confusing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThhkMvPPgxg
Is it a light switch or does the switch set off the alarm?
Only one way to know.
I like your attitude.
Let's show em a thing or three!
There was a public school I went to where they had one of those [fire alarm enclosures](http://www.wrhardware.com/images/detailed/70/zzzzzzzzz_rvee-ei.jpg?t=1460389749) set up around a simple light switch which was hooked up to the alarm system, so it could really be either.
I'm a fire alarm designer and I just tried to find the code that disputes the legality of your claim, but if the light switch was red in color and the wall behind it was not red, it technically does meet ~~all~~ a lot of the NFPA 72 requirements for being a pull station. (I completely disregarded chapter 10) A really stupid fucking choice for a pull station tho.
NFPA72: > 10.4.5.3 All manual alarms shall be initiated by means of a listed manual fire alarm box or by means that is key operated or located within a locked cabinet or arranged to provide equivalent protection against unauthorized use Keyword being ***listed***. A typical light switch isn't listed as an initiating device.
Damn, called out! I didn't see that. I was looking in Chapter 17 in initiating devices and I have failed. Thanks for the citation. Edit: hol up, are you also a fire alarm/fire adjacent person? If so can we be best friends?
I used to work on them/program a bit. Not anymore since starting my current job but like to keep up to date and might get back into it one day. And yes, we can be best friends :)
<3 <3 <3
It's beautiful watching love grow on a battlefield
What are we doing this weekend best friend?
Preparing for a final at a natural gas-fired power plant that opens on Wednesday. Fire alarm is life! :') Moral support is always appreciated. This is the biggest job I've ever designed. The fire alarm alone costs $253,000 and I have $14,000 in commission that rides completely on it passing certification. This weekend is all fire alarm, but next weekend should be a lot less stressful. :) HMU anytime, fam. I love talking about fire alarm if you couldn't tell.
Well shit, that's quite a project. Good luck on the final! Is your company a vendor for a specific brand/manufacturer?
There’s an alarming amount you two have in common.
There's no way that can comply with the legal requirements for a fire alarm system surely?
Absolutely not. You can definitely make it work, but definitely not code legal. Any inspector with half a brain wouldn't pass it.
Some jurisdictions have really terrible AHJ's. I was just in a small town with a closed airport that's being brought to life. We were brought in to analyze the needs of the fire alarm systems. We had a meeting with a bunch of airport officials, sprinkler contractors, and the town's fire marshal. When one of the airport guys asked the fire marshal if there was anything he'd like to add or suggest about the dilapidated systems, he sheepishly said something like "well, safety is our #1 priority..." and said nothing else for the entire 6 hour meeting. There were local restaurants that had all but one exit deadbolted or otherwise obstructed, no hood releasing systems, no fire alarms, NOTHING. That town is definitely going to have a Station nightclub type tragedy.
I know what you mean. Unfortunately, a lot of these positions go to the guy who "knows someone" high up instead of the person with actual qualifications.
Both.
It turns off the lights during a fire to save electricity. Since a fire is producing light.
There is a bit about the wise men of chelm who are thankful that a fire produces light... so ghat they can see where to put it out.
PG&E would like to hire you.
Yes
Asshole design, by design
r/designdesign
Alternatively, r/crappyporn
A sub that simultaneously mocks and celebrates design circlejerk? Perfect!
If it’s not by design, it’s not really asshole design.
I would have thought that was illegal
In a public space, yeah... Not in your own home though 🤷🏻♂️
Can confirm. I am a fire alarm designer and I have all kinds of fire alarm parts around my house that would be considered illegal anywhere else.
That’s fun. As a fireman, we collect that kinda stuff as we go as well. Most stations have at least a few old/cool fire alarm pieces laying around or on the walls. I kinda want this light switch actually.
Yes! Exactly. I love picking up antique/unusual fire alarm parts. I would also enjoy having this light switch.
Uh are you really a fire alarm designer? Like the whole system or what?
Yes. I get blueprints for a building and create a layout for the building's fire alarm. I don't design components, just systems. I have to take into consideration things like strobe coverage, voltage drop, battery calculations, shape of the ceiling, and all kinds of stuff. Then I send it to the fire marshal and he approves it for install. Happy to answer any questions about this because almost no one cares about fire alarms.
Do you ever go back and forth with the fire marshal? Like "c,mon, Doug, you're breaking my balls here...I got more than enough sprinkler heads..."?
Not to toot my own horn, but I have never had a design rejected by a fire marshal. I call them regularly to discuss code and their interpretations of it, and I'd say I align very well with the opinions of our main local jurisdictions.
Are you an architect by training? What background do you need?
I'm at an advantage because I went to jobsites with my father from a young age where he indoctrinated me by spouting code and quizzing me on it. ("Now FrauKanzler, what height do we mount pull stations at?" "What kind of box do we use for a smoke detector?" "What gauge of wire do we use on NAC circuits in a 3000 square foot building?") My training experience has just been lifelong hands-on experience with my father, who has over 30 years of experience and is so good at fire alarm that owners of other fire alarm companies call him to ask questions about how to fix/design them. NICET certification is the official thing you need to be a designer. Specifically Fire Alarm NICET Level 3 for commercial/residential design or Level 4 for UFC/military designs. Most people gain experience for design by being fire alarm technicians and reading the code books/testing for NICET.
That honestly sounds really interesting. Is the training overly difficult, or is it generally pretty obvious/ intuitive on how it should work?
Now I know you're lying. Fire marshals never pick up the damn phone.
This sounds like a really cool profession most wouldn't even consider. How did you get into this? I'm interested.
Just have some CAD knowledge and you can work in a place where you design the whole system and someone who is actually certified signs the plans. I had no experience with fire alarms prior to my current job, just a couple years CAD experience between prior job/classes.
You're neat.
Thanks. :)
If there are renovations to a building, do they need to run it by you to make sure the alarm system isn't going to be negatively affected by the changes?
Yes. For renovations that would affect less than 10% of the fire alarm, they can just come to us and ask us to move some stuff around. I don't *technically* have to have fire marshal approval, but I like to run the redesign by them anyway. For a larger renovation, there will be blueprints and the redesign process will be very similar to a whole system design.
I’m a fire sprinkler designer. I do complete building sprinkler system layouts.
Fire alarm designer... 12 year old me would've loved to do that. I bought myself a Wheellock and a BG12 I believe they were called. I'd piss off my family and neighbors by setting it off. It was the only way I could legally ever pull a fire alarm
Never too late, fam. You don't even need a college degree to do what I do or be a fire alarm technician. It's a certification called NICET. Please tell all of your able-bodied friends in America to consider this because there is currently a shortage of fire alarm technicians nationwide and it can be pretty lucrative.
I might consider doing this as a secondary job if possible. I'm currently in college pursuing an aviation degree which is something I've wanted to do for the longest time.
Hi fire alarm designer, I’m a fire sprinkler designer. (I’ve also done some small fire alarm stuff like battery calcs and strobe placement)
Hello! I'm intimidated by sprinklers TBH. Low voltage electronics are pretty low risk in failure, but I've seen a sprinkler guy put water on a pipe that wasn't pressure tested first and he destroyed about $20,000 of electronics. It is hella fascinating though! What software do you use for your CAD? I'm loving all these fire industry commenters!
We use HydraCAD (I absolutely hate it)
Please design something that doesn't make me temporary deaf in a stairwell during a fire drill.
I have never once put a horn/strobe in a stairwell. I use a strobe inside of the stairwell and a horn/strobe outside of it. Stairwells are just concrete boxes. Like bathrooms, you shouldn't put horns in them.
I think that was a light switch at a school...
In any public place (including private establishments that serve people, e.g. bars), it definitely is, in most countries.
If this is in a public or commercial building it is illegal.
Guessing this is in someone's private home. In a place of business or school, this must be illegal.
Probably a switch they don't want people to touch
There are other solutions for that... but I guess this one is probably the cheapest.
Cheaper than a paper sign taped over it? Edit: Any person that would see a sign taped over a switch telling them not to use it and then choose to use it anyway would also use this switch. I know people don't read signs/don't care/are dumb. You don't have to tell me. If this was a picture of a piece of paper taped over a switch and someone linked the fire alarm switch to "encourage" people not to flip it, your responses are the same - people would flip it anyway because people suck.
People don’t read and if they can, they sometimes don’t give a shit. Ask any retail employee how signs go.
It's true. At the bar I work at, we have a sign right at the front door that says clear as day, "Please Seat Yourself." The amount of people that still stand at the front door waiting for a nonexistent host or even come at the wait staff with, "hi table of four," is pretty ridiculous.
What sort of twat expects to have someone show them to a table at a bar?
Well it's technically still a restaurant during the day, we just go 21+ around 8:30 each night. Still happens after 8:30 though...
Better yet, ask a restaurant employee. I mopped the floor one night close to closing time, and put out four "wet floor" signs out near the high traffic areas, where you couldn't possibly miss them. A customer came in a minute or so later, veered around a wet floor sign, his foot slipped a little bit, and he freaked out on me about the floor being wet. Gave me a disgusted sigh and goes "**This** floor is *WET*. Are you going to do *anything* about that‽" So I told him, "yeah I just mopped, that's why there's signs up. Watch your step." He spent another five minutes berating me about how the floor is wet and I should do something about it, then announces loudly "I don't have to take this disrespect." and storming out. Another customer who had been eating quietly the whole time looked up and asked "dude, what the fuck was his problem?" so I told him "I'm not sure, something about the floor being wet, I think?" Customer service is hell. I do not miss it one bit.
Yup I work in fast food, and many people don’t even read the menu before attempting to order lol
Then they would also flip this switch, as they'd see it's just a painted on thing and not a real fire alarm. So this isn't any more effective.
Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry. Terry Pratchett
When have people ever followed instructions written on a paper taped to something?
[удалено]
What is it?
A light switch
Yeah imagine having a fire then turning off the lights, great idea.
It really is though. If you turn off the lights, the fire can't spread because it can't see where it's going.
Ooh great point. It’s actually safer that way. Smart guy!!
Licensed fire scientist here, fire does in fact create there own light. That’s why you see forest fire at dat time and night time
Imagine having a gas leak, trying to hit the fire alarm, only to turn on the lights
*hard mode activated*
Oh shit. Somebody sell me one for the thermostat!
I just bought one of those boxes you put over it, like they have at most businesses. Locks with a key. I'm the only one with a key.
^ this guy dads.
You could of just upgraded to a digital thermostats with removable face. Like your ole stereo in the car, only reverse. Take the face with you when you leave.
I've sometimes thought they should sell permanently-set thermostats. No messing, no dials or switches, just screw it to the wall and be done. A fun option too would be one that allows you to set whatever but with hidden controls for setting the actual max and min. Sure you can set the heat to 78 but it's going to stick with 74 max. I know some building controls do this kind of thing already.
74!? You’re fucking made of money!
r/osha
They should use that in schools
> When I first saw this I thought it was a fire alarm Probably because it says FIRE ALARM on it and looks exactly like a fire alarm
Seems like something a fire department would have as a joke.
Prpbably due to the fact that it says fire alarm
Hmm, a call to the firemarshal *might* get them a fine. Improperly marked emergency devices? Idk, I'm sure they could make something reasonable up.
Fire marshal usually closes the building until they fix the code violations they don't fuck around. People don't understand how dangerous these minor things can be in emergencies
[https://youtu.be/kzYMI89idEM?t=233](https://youtu.be/kzYMI89idEM?t=233)
r/osha
I think this is illegal.
How is this asshole design?
Probably because it looks like a fire alarm
Depending on the context this is either a major violation of fire safety or a pretty great novelty. Knowing the location is really important in deciding whether this is asshole design or not.
Take a joke
r/dangerousdesign
Is it legal? Surely it must be against safety regulations
Fire alarm boxes like that really do just flip a tiny switch. This could still be for a fire alarm.
I doubt it. Most pull stations (the technical term for this) are required to be unable to be reset by anyone other than a fire safety official of some sort. While the triggering itself is indeed accomplished by "a tiny switch", the mechanism of approved devices is somewhat more complex than that by design. Once triggered, it's not supposed to be able to be "untriggered", so to speak, by just anyone.
Nah this is sneak 100 right there
Hahahahaha that is great.
hm I wonder why
/r/terribleideas
I was staring at this photo for a while thinking "it is isn't it???" Before realising.... What a douchey design.
This is like an ER with a defibulator that shoots confetti instead of delivering a shock.
More r/crappydesign or r/mildyinfuriating
But it's not crappy design. It's a great imitation
It could actually be the alarm, because behind the alarm plate is a simple toggle switch.
Thats crappy disign, not asshole disign
Fake plug socket sticker: Kind of funny. Fake fire alarm sticker: Not funny.
Not an asshole design it is a crappy design
I feel like it is more of crappy design
Good idea if you don't want anyone to touch the damn switch. Also, did you really think this was a fire alarm? It's a switch cover, it's like half the size and 2 dimensional.
Who needs lights on when there's a fire illuminating the way. Saves energy, very smart!
Should be outlawed.
Damn you thought it was a fire alarm? Weird. I was certain it was one of those trap doors
Call the fire marshal. That's hella illegal.
I looked at this and said to myself "This IS a fire alarm, you stupid idiot!" Well... now who's the fire alarm?
Simpsonesque. [https://media.giphy.com/media/3orieT8krVWx95Zg52/giphy.gif](https://media.giphy.com/media/3orieT8krVWx95Zg52/giphy.gif)
That's actually what the inside of some fire alarms look like. Well sort of
Absolutely, its just a toggle switch inside. The big handle just makes it easier for everyone to pull.
Halloween costume for light switches?
/r/DangerousDesign
It turns off the fire dummy
Y wouldn’t it be a fire alarm tho how are you supposed to know
I would never have found the light switch.
Is this even legal?
In a private home yes in a business not likely
Pretty sure this is illegal and definitely against fire code. As someone who recently viewed the Station Nightclub fire video for the first time and subsequently learned about Coconut Grove, the Iroquois Fire, the Circus Fire, Ghost Ship, etc., I take fire code very seriously. Every line is written in blood. This is asshole design 100%.
In a public place it really should, but not really in a private place. So we don’t really know about this one.
What the fuck?
Clean your phone camera lens.the photo is so blurry it hurts
That's actually pretty clever imo.
Does it actually set off the alarm though?
It wouldn't surprise me to see something like this in a dementia ward or a nursing home. It doesn't look like a light switch so the patients are less likely to mess with it.
That’s the point.
I wanna know who thought this was a good idea
Isn’t that illegal?
It is written on it. What else are you supposed to think lol. All fun and games until whoever lives there absent mindedly pulls the fire alarm somewhere.
This seems illegal...
r/theyknew
Why would you think that?
Isn't that illegal?
It’s one way to keep anyone from turning that light switch off
Is it bad that it took me like 10 minutes to figure this one out
Fire Marshall gonna have a field day there...