Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A device, such as a siren, used in announcing the outbreak of a fire.
- noun The signal, especially the noise, produced by such a device.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An alarm of fire.
- noun A mechanical apparatus for giving a signal or alarm of fire.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
electromechanical orelectronic bell ,klaxon ,chime ,horn ,speaker ,strobe light or other device which warns people in a building of a possiblefire or other condition requiringevacuation . - noun The
sound or other warning made by a fire alarm. - noun firefighting An emergency response to a fire by the
fire department with manpower and equipment.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a shout or bell to warn that fire has broken out
- noun an alarm that is tripped off by fire or smoke
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
fire + alarm
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Examples
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plethora commented on the word fire alarm
We had two last night, exactly 1 hour and 11 minutes apart. 2:11am and 3:22am. Luckily I have a really warm dressing gown.
August 3, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
In my freshman year at college, I lived in a dorm (all girls). Beginning sometime during the winter months (runs from November - April!) a disturbed person began pulling the fire alarm every single night (sometimes 2 or 3 times) for weeks and weeks on end. We all had to file down the stairs (I was on the 6th floor...) and stand out in the cold for an hour or so until the fire department came and checked the building, then walk back up and try to get back to sleep... Fun!
August 3, 2008
bilby commented on the word fire alarm
So why did you do it dontcry?
August 3, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
Cute firemen, duh!
August 3, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
They finally caught her by putting some kind of powder on all the alarms. That night, when we all filed back into the dorm, we had to pass our hands under a blacklight. When the girl got wind of what was happenning, she ran off.
August 3, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
What's ironic is, the next year I lived in cheesy off-campus apartments. In the middle of a November night, a fire started in the apartment next to mine. They were cooking on the stove and fell asleep. There were no smoke alarms in any of the apartments and the firewalls between each unit stopped at the ceiling. In the end, one boy was burned to within an inch of his life and my apartment was the last one standing.
August 3, 2008
bilby commented on the word fire alarm
Great stories, thanks for sharing :-)
August 3, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
Wait, there's more... don't you want to know how we all got up and out without smoke alarms?
Well, since you asked, I'll tell you: The boys in the apartment under mine were up all night cramming for exams (translation: getting high and listening to music). My roommates and I were fast asleep. My bedroom mate was legally blind. The one boy next door, where the fire started was deaf.
August 3, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
The midnight air was crisp, the boys were crispier... suddenly, between Boston tracks and bong hits, one of the boys smelled something funny...
OK, so,I'm not a gifted writer! The boys who were 'studying' smelled the smoke and went out to investigate. They saw the flames coming from one of the upstairs apartments and began banging on the doors of all the apartments. Slowly, people began to file out, most groggy from the smoke. I rolled over in my bed and hear my nearly-blind roommate get up and walk to the wall switch. She turned the light on but the bulb msu have been burned out because the room didn't light up. But actually it did, the smoke was so thick we couldn't see it.
August 3, 2008
plethora commented on the word fire alarm
omigawd! Talk about drama.
August 3, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
I KNOW!
Let's see, where was I... So, my visually challenged roommate and I are moving kind of slow (we later found out were were suffering from smoke inhalation), trying to piece together what was going on. We could hear banging and screaming coming from outside, but being that we lived in off-campus apartments, that was not unusual or noteworthy. We kind of shrugged things off and were going to roll over and go back to sleep when I thought I heard one of the boys calling my name -- that was unusual -- as their revelry rarely consisted of more than hoots and hollars.
August 3, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
I'm a terrible typist (typer?...)!
So we decide to get up and see what's going on. When we opened the bedroom door smoke came pouring into the room and we realized what was going on. We woke our other two roommates up and headed down the stairs of our apartment. There was a hugh crowd outside and everyone was happy to see us as we were the last to come out. Well, almost the last.
August 3, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
A lot of drama surrounded the apartment next to ours (also an upstairs unit) and we soon discovered that's where the fire started. We also discovered that there still was one person inside, unconscious. The firefighters hadn't arrived yet and campus 'police' wouldn't let anyone go up to try to get the boy out. One of the 'studious' boys wasn't having that, however. He had been burned as a child and remembered the pain of recovery. His legs still bore the scars. He was going in. Nobody stopped him. He donned a scuba mask to protect his eyes and after being driven back down the stairs by smkoe a couple of times, finally made it to the boy's body and dragged him to the top of the stairs where another brave boy was able to go up and carry him down.
August 3, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
The boy who was left behind was deaf. When his roommates roused everyone and yelled for them to jump out the back window (the fire was in the front of the apartment) -- he didn't hear. In his panic to get out, he ran directly into the room where the fire started and was immediately overcome.
August 3, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
The boy who saved him received an award from a local hero's organization. He was a hero -- and he's my hero: Mr. dontcry!
I have to get ready to go to the fair now...the cow milking competition gets started in the Main Show Ring in 2 hours and I don't want to miss that! Have a groovey day!
August 3, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word fire alarm
Yay! Married to a hero!
August 3, 2008
plethora commented on the word fire alarm
Awwwww! *is goo*
August 3, 2008
she commented on the word fire alarm
dontcry, please never turn off your finger-faucets.
August 3, 2008
reesetee commented on the word fire alarm
Aww. Great story, dontcry. :-D
August 4, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
Shucks!
August 5, 2008
bilby commented on the word fire alarm
He pulls people out of burning buildings in his youth, yet now he can't hack Marmite. What have you done to his superpowers, dontcry?
August 7, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fire alarm
It's his kryptonite.
August 7, 2008
minouchette commented on the word fire alarm
a divorced woman
October 8, 2010