At Nottingham in the new building, we had a fun fire drill. We accidentally overheatd a sub-station turning the server room on which a) set of the fire alarm and b) disconnected the power. This caused the locks to go into one of two states depending on their failsafe state and whether they could be used in a fire. (Ideally the locks would be arranged so that "fire" and "no power" were similar). Unfortunately, someone had installed the lock-on-power and lock-on-no-power electromagnets semirandomly, and configured the attached control box to do the right thing for that (randomly selected) bolt in normal conditions. This meant that when the power failed the doors altered configuration in two ways. Of course we didn't know the new building too well and there were no lights. Oh, and no windows in the firedoors apart from slits seven foot off the ground. Also some doors were stealth doors. Normally these were disguised as walls (being just slabs) but swung into the corridor in the case of a fire and locked (they should have closed, but shouldn't have locked). So we were in a building we dind't know, in the dark, and it had changed topology in unpredictable ways. And we had to get out. Sometimes they're just out to get you, :).

That sounds more like an unlikely computer-game scenario than a real fire drill! I'm impressed. :-)

The amusing thing is it happened about an hour after The Queen and Prince Philip had left after the official opening. It was more like one of those odd stress dreams.

A $nationality firedril perhaps.

Thing I'd do if I ever became an evil overlord (http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html) #96: My door mechanisms will be designed so that blasting the control panel on the outside seals the door and blasting the control panel on the inside opens the door, not vice versa.

Well, depends on your threat model really. If that's the door to a prison cell into which you think there's any possibility of throwing a hero who you have inadequately frisked for weapons, it's entirely back to front...

Bah! I am the overlord, "inside" is whichever side *I'm* on, damnit! :)