Pengalaman Ngeri Trigger Fire Alarm Ketika Di Melbourne, Australia

Hoping to see this but boyyy we were disappointed.

Was contemplating whether I should write this entry or not. It's not funny when it happens, but as time goes by (so is the stress and anxiety), it definitely is a funny story.

So CPPS pun up lah cerita ini kan. Untuk dijadikan pengajaran dan panduan kepada orang lain supaya tidak melakukan kesilapan yang sama.

Post kali ini bukanlah tentang itinerari ke Melbourne, berapa bajet etc etc. Itu uols kena tunggu post lain pulak.

Cerita kali ini adalah bagaimana kami menyebabkan fire alarm berbunyi, satu bangunan kena evacuate dan bomba datang pukul 8.30am pada hari sabtu. 

Ahhh kenangan yang sangat berapi!

Okay so nak dijadikan cerita, untuk trip kami ke Melbourne ni, weols duduk kat airbnb di Melbourne CBD, tak jauh dari Southern Cross Station. 

Sebelum sampai ke Melbourne ni pun, CPPS dah khatam house manual yang diberikan. Ada satu house rule yang menarik perhatian dan bikin CPPS gerun adalah

"You are allowed to cook. Just make sure the kitchen hood is on and the window is opened. As the fire alarm is very sensitive, if you triggered the alarm that results in a fire truck visit, you are to be responsible for the fine applied."

Lebih kurang gitulah. 

Kat Melbourne, dorang sangat strict and efficient dari segi fire prevention. Setiap unit kediaman ada fire alarm/ smoke detector yang bersambung dengan balai bomba. 

So kalau alarm tu berbunyi, bomba akan automatik datang.

Dan kalau bomba datang tetapi didapati ianya false alarm (tiada kebakaran atau kejadian yang tidak memerlukan kepakaran bomba), uols akan didenda.

Sis cuak uolsss. Mintak-mintaklah tak jadi macam tu. Kena denda plak satu hal, dahlah dalam AUSD. haa darab 3 lah jawabnya.

So everytime kitorang nak masak tu, iols akan make surelah kitchen hood dah on, pintu balkoni dibukak.

So far so good.

Okay nak dijadikan cerita, pagi sabtu 13 April 2019 tu, weols ni bersiap2lah nak keluar kan.

Iols mandi dan yang lain-lain tengah sibuk siapkan sarapan.

Adalah seseorang (identitinya dirahsiakan. Hihi) nak panaskan scones menggunakan microwave. Tak tau la kan apa jadi sebab iols dalam bilik air, tiba-tiba dengar dorang kecoh-kecoh kat luar.

Dia panaskan scones 5 minit kauuu, setting pulak high. Berasaplah benda tu kan. hahaha. Masa ni iols malas nak peduli, pandai-pandailah dorang settle. 

TIBA-TIBA FIRE ALARM BERBUNYI!!!!! 

and satu bangunan tu ada centralized PA system "THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. PLEASE EVACUATE THE BUILDING IMMEDIATELY." Ulang 8 juta kali.

Shit.

Iols cepat-cepat pakai baju, capai benda yang penting and turun. Sis is very the panic and stress sebab tak tau macam mana nak cakap dengan host kan.

Time tu awal pagi, sabtu pulak. Mestilah tak bangun lagi.

Masa sampai kat bawah tu, dah ramai orang evacuate. Masing-masing dengan baju tido, muka mamai kena kejut dengan fire alarm and fire truck. Rasa bersalah gila okayyy. 

Like "oh shit. what have we done?!! WHYYYY?!?!"

Photo courtesy of Adeline. Bwahahaha. the only photo we have

It took less than 5 minutes for the fire truck to come. Tak tau dari mana dia datang and naik pegi unit, 3 orang bomba lengkap dengan fire suit dorang tu haaa muka kerek like 

"I came for these burned scones?!?!"

Orang tengah cuak dan rasa bersalah ni paham tak paham taaakkkkkk? Can you imagine you have never experience this and you are in a foreign country some more!?!

Nasib baik hensem. Tibaaahhhhh

Sorang je la yang macam friendly sikit, sambil dia lalu lalu tu dia cakap kat semua orang "Thank you for evacuating guys".

So since there is no real danger, everyone then go up to their unit. Weols yang 4 ketul ni terpaksalah tebalkan muka jumpa building manager and supervisor, explain apa yang jadi.

Nasib baik dorang sangat helpful, tak marah-marah pun. cuma dia nasihat, next time, kalau berasap and you tau takde api or bahaya, jangan bukak pintu koridor. 

Cukup sekadar on hood, bukak pintu balkoni sebab yang paling sensitive adalah smoke detector di koridor. 

Host kitorang pun helpful jugak (berbeza sangat dengan owner unit). Dia tanya is everything okay. Lepas tu dia pun datang jugak tengok and jumpa building manager sekali.

So kitorang bersedia je lah kot kot kena denda. denda pun bukan murah, hundreds of AUSD. Darab 3 okayyy nak convert pegi RM.

Masa kejadian tu, selain inform host, as a courtesy, I also inform unit owner that understand if there is a fine, we will be responsible.

The last few days we were there, there is no updates whatsoever if there is fine. When we reached Malaysia, I got an airbnb message from the owner that says something like this

"Understand that during your stay, the fire alarm is triggered that results in fire truck visit. There is fine applied. I will send a request for money, please accept"

Some to and fro message later and after in which I asked

"Is there a possibility of leniency?"

You know what he said?

He asked me to check with Airbnb. Airbnb has nothing to do with this and they wouldn't even know what happen.

If there is a fine, it will be from the Melbourne fire department to the building/ unit owner and has absolutely nothing to do with Airbnb. 

We knew this because after the incident, we did extensive reading on what to do, what is the fine, the possibility of leniency etc.

The owner wasn't even helping and worse, he's like trying to take advantage of the situation by asking us money for an alleged "fine"!

After I asked about leniency and he asked me to check with Airbnb, I did not reply him. He did not send the request for money, then I know he's just trying to take advantage.

For somebody who apparently owns/manage a lot of airbnb property around Melbourne, shouldn't he know more about the procedure? 

If he is honest that is.

Nasib baik weols ni tak buta-buta, bodoh-bodoh. Kalau tak kan dah kena tipu?

It's already more than a month and there is no news whatsoever. Let's hope that we were not fined lah kan.

Pengajaran daripada cerita ni:

1. Kalau uols masak sampai berasap-asap dan smoke detector berbunyi, JANGAN PANIK. Kalau uols tau takde bahaya/ kebakaran, JANGAN BUKAK PINTU KORIDOR. Switch on kitchen hood, bukak tingkap atau pintu balkoni dan biar asap keluar. Smoke detector di koridor paling sensitive.

2. Kalau host/owner mintak duit untuk denda, sebelum uols bagi duit, pastikan uols mintak copy of fine from MFB untuk pastikan yang uols betul-betul didenda. Sebab MFB takkan sesuka denda orang. 

Nope. no other picture was taken of that day. Too overwhelmed to think of taking pictures. hahahah!

So kesannya kepada kami berempat adalah sehingga ke hari ini, kami agak trauma apabila mendengar bunyi smoke detector dan siren bomba.

Please uols, jangan jadi macam kitorang please.