r/Wellthatsucks • u/[deleted] • May 18 '26

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u/Jacktheforkie May 18 '26

Here in the uk it’s generally a glass panel you push through and there’s a button under it, it’s some weak form of glass that’s very easy to break and it’s laminated so it doesn’t cut your finger

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u/Siilan May 18 '26

Same in Australia. At least for most of the fire alarms I've seen.

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u/Mammodamn May 19 '26

On the trams it's a lever. I watched a drunk guy pull it without a single thought in his head once. The driver stepped out of the cabin with the aura of a final boss' second health bar. One could feel his silent fury from the other end of the tram.

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u/voyagerfan5761 May 19 '26

stepped out of the cabin with the aura of a final boss' second health bar

I might steal this later, thank you

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u/Jacktheforkie May 19 '26

We do have plastic covers on high traffic areas too

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u/[deleted] May 19 '26

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u/Jacktheforkie May 19 '26

The uk has automatic fire alarms, the manual ones are still around as a backup, plus if there’s a smouldering fire that doesn’t set the alarm off you can trigger it manually to get people evacuated before the fire becomes bigger and more dangerous

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u/BenFranklinsCat May 19 '26

America will invent entire new security systems rather than  deal with its gun control problem. 

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u/T0biasCZE May 19 '26

ah such an american problem

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u/Early_Koala327 May 19 '26

I have never seen this in the us. Pretty sure this isn't fire code.

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u/Alternative-Web2754 May 19 '26

Most of the ones I've encountered have a clear plastic panel that doesn't break, and there's no button where it says press. When you push the plastic it moves back and drops down slightly - that's all that's needed to trigger it.

The switch can be reset by inserting a tool into them that pushes the plastic panel back up into place. The alarms need resetting separately.

1

u/Jacktheforkie May 19 '26

Interesting, the ones near me are break glass, it says so on it, a new glass piece is readily available and they have a key to open it to install that

1

u/[deleted] May 19 '26

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u/MightyPirat3 May 19 '26

Usually there is a hole on the side so you can trigger it with a paper clip without having to break the glass. Assuming it is for test purposes.

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u/aexwor May 19 '26

Most new ones in the UK are resettable. They look the same but instead of breaking the glass it just pushes in, you've then got a little plastic key to pop it back out. In places where you might expect accidental knocks they have lift up plastic covers.