DC ParaTransit Info The Wheels are broken, but it's not our chairs …

Post: Fire Alarm Stops MetroAccess

According to a brief article in the Washington Post, the MetroAccess call center was briefly evacuated yesterday, leaving telephone lines unstaffed for about 15 minutes, after a fire alarm was pulled in the Silver Spring office building.

The false alarm went off about 1:45 p.m., according to Metro. It seems that MV's employees didn't leave until they were told to by Fire officials at around 2pm, returning quarter of an hour later after the alarm had been determined to be a false one.

Whilst we applaud the dedication of the call center staff, we would like to note that, regardless of the pressure MetroAccess may be under to get things right at the moment and the effect evacuation would have on rides, it isn't worth ignoring fire alarms. The community is a lot more understanding of loss of service when we know the reasons behind it, and evacuating because your building might be on fire falls under the category of "Oh, well that makes sense".