Evacuation!

It came as a total surprise. My husband, John and I were sitting in a back row of a theatre with another couple, intensely watching spider man and bingo, the emergency lights went on and a laser type of white light flashed indicating our need to evacuate. We were stunned!

This was the first time that its happened to us while at the movies, and at first, we thought it was a drill. Drills happen all the time, like the time we went to visit my brother in a Worcester hospital, and while sitting in the small cafeteria, having lunch, bingo the system was activated. The difference,  was the loud speaker announced that this was a test and that there was no need to leave.

Apparently, this was not a test. We probably were among the last to leave theatre four and following the crowd out of the door, left of the screen, found ourselves moving forward down  a long hallway with no windows, while the reoccurring sound of danger and frightful white blinking light beckoned to us.

Everyone walked forward, most smiling or laughing, in an orderly way toward the distant EXIT sign. No one heard any message from any loud speaker, apparently, they had also left the building. Should there be sign of smoke or fire, the crowd could run toward the door, and since, we were shoulder to shoulder from others exiting their auditorium, the scene could have been disastrous.

Finally, we left the building, to the cool street crowded with people, but no fire apparatus was present as yet. We waited for a time, not knowing what to expect or what was the cause of our departure from the building. Some joked about the popcorn machine. It was fine. It could have been otherwise, I thought.

Safety officials from the one truck dispatched from the Sturbridge Fire Department, gave the authorization to return, and that was the end of the featured film.

Rain checks will be honored from the ticket stubs and we'll be returning to see the exciting adventure.
No one knows what happened, other than we had an unexpected adventure of our own.

It makes one think. One thing for sure is that we are grateful for state mandates that provided us with the tools needed to evacuate, safely.