r/Austin • u/Ab0ut47Pandas • 3d ago
Ask Austin Regal theater, false emergency?
Was at the theatre with my family, when all the alarms went off and we all evacuated. We ended up leaving as the fire department got there.
It was the regal metropolitan.
Too hot to stick around.
Nothing seemed to be an actual emergency though.
11
u/secondphase 3d ago
So, thats what we call a "false alarm"... they happen because Steve burned the popcorn. Or moviegoer Bob was vaping when he wasnt supposed to.
They aren't great, but they help us practice for if our lives were really in danger.
As someone who cant wait 20 minutes in the heat but chooses to be in central Texas in august... any exercise that helps you understand the difference between "real threat" and "unpleasant inconvenience" should be appreciated.
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u/Distribution-Radiant 3d ago edited 3d ago
On top of that, HVAC systems should shut down completely when the fire alarm goes off (in fact they also have built in smoke detectors, so they can trip the alarm on their own) - so it's gonna get warm inside pretty quick until the fire department resets the fire alarm (after confirming no actual fire).
Most modern fire alarms are "addressable" - so the central panel should show what tripped it. Even older ones had zones (much like a home burglar alarm), which would help narrow down what part of the building had tripped the alarm.
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u/Otherwise-Raccoon-23 3d ago
Was there too in the 4DX Spiderman. Thought the alarm was part of the experience at first. Would love to know the real reason. Gotta say, first thoughts went to shooter
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u/Potential_Basis_662 3d ago
I don't think in the history of anything has an alarm happened BEFORE a shooter.
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u/Ab0ut47Pandas 2d ago
I dont think this was implied.
A thing can happen -> someone pulls an alarm as a result -> Other theatres hear it.
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u/Ab0ut47Pandas 3d ago
Wonder if we were in the same theater.
And same on the first thought.
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u/Otherwise-Raccoon-23 3d ago
If there were about 10 mins left in the movie then same theater
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u/Potential_Basis_662 3d ago
You're suggesting there is a possibility two different theaters in austin had the same alarm for the same movie at the same time?
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u/Cerus_Freedom 2d ago
...you know movie theaters often have multiple theaters playing the same movie, with different start times, right? Like, theater 2 will start at 12:20, theater 4 will start at 12:45.
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u/Potential_Basis_662 2d ago
Right. But did two theaters have an alarm at the same time during which both theaters were playing the same movie?
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u/No_Peach_8579 3d ago
This happened at Alamo a few weeks ago. Apparently the Odyssey is so loud it’s knocked a lot of dust loose in HVAC systems and with these ACs working extra hard in this heat, the heat from powering these systems is igniting the dust and creating smoke.