Pro tip: check every emergency phone in your building at least once a month

I was doing a routine maintenance check at a 12 story office building in Portland last Tuesday and found 3 emergency phones with dead batteries. One of them had been dead so long the battery terminals were corroded. Has anyone else ran into this or am I the only one checking these things regularly?

3 comments

3 Comments

charles_coleman3d ago

That's a good point about people assuming somebody else has got it covered. What really gets me is that if you're in a stairwell during a fire or a power outage, you can't exactly whip out your cell phone to call for help. I saw one building where the phone was tucked behind a filing cabinet in a storage room, basically useless for an emergency. It's not just about checking the batteries, it's about making sure the phones are actually installed somewhere a person could get to them in a panic.

phoenix_martin403d agoTop Commenter

Wait, you mean those emergency phones aren't always in plain sight? I used to think they were usually mounted on the wall by the exit or something, but @charles_coleman totally changed my mind with that filing cabinet example. That's just asking for trouble in a real emergency.

marybutler3d ago

Read an OSHA report that said most people assume someone else is checking those phones.