How many people reading this were there?

Yes, I was (2)

100%

I decided tonight on November 20, 2009 to watch the movie "2012" which began at 8:30pm onbase Yokosuka at Fleet Theater..

At approximately 8:45pm (10-15 minutes) into the movie, the fire alarm went off. I forgot to mention this movie was extremely packed! I have never seen a movie ever fill up so quickly, and I wonder if the alarm was not pulled due to so many people standing because they had no seat. There were actually individuals standing against the side walls because they could not find a seat. Anyhow, so the alarm went off. I think most people in the movie were a little confused, and stunned to why it was going off in the first place, knowing very well there was no fire present. Everyone in the theater just sat in silence, while the siren blasted over the sound of the movie for atleast 1 to 2 minutes. They eventually turned the lights on for the theater, and stopped rolling the movie. A lady who I believe worked for the theater who was watching the movie, stood up, and told everyone to head outside.

What was shocking is while we all stood outside for nearly 10 more minutes until the first fire (van) not truck showed up at 8:55. It took them 10 minutes to show up to the scene. Now standing in the cold, it actually felt like close to 20-30 minutes, because we all stood at each other in gase wondering why the alarm was even still going off... I did however see 2 patrolman show up, they went in, checked it out, and just stood around laughing, because they probably figured it was caused by a teen pulling a prank. At 8:57 (12 minutes after the first alarm sounded) a fire truck (with no lights turned on) showed up to the scene. It took approx 18 more minutes for us to be led back into the theater. The movie began playing around 9:15pm.

All I can say is it was one hell of an experience.

If anyone else is there, please fill in any details if I left anything out. I think the times were pretty accurate because I was trying to make good notes to post on this forum about the incident.

** I forgot to mention the stampede that took place with people trying to run back to their original seats ** Even the employees of the theater made an announcement to the guests to please be nice and sit in your original seats.. Hint Hint.. People never listen.. I think most people just sat anywhere they felt like. I tell you one thing, there were a lot less seats when the movie started the second time, because directly behind me there were 5 open seats.. I guess people didn't want to wait around for the fire trucks and the 30 minute delay. I wonder if those that left will get some sort of refund.

I took some pictures below to show what was going on. Sorry the pictures did not show up very clear because they were taken with my cell phone camera.

People leaving the theater out the side doors as alarm sounded:



Fire van who showed up to the scene first:



People as they waited out front in the massive line freezing cold:



Everyone sitting back as they allowed people back into the theater:

I wasn't there and can't provide any first-hand opinions, however, I do have a few comments/suggestions:

#1 - MWR (More Wasted Resources) management should be called on the carpet for this fiasco. They knew there would be a packed house for a big Holywood release. Extra employees should have been on duty including managers, not just the ticket-takers. Someone should have been counting the people coming in to avoid overcrowding. From what I'm reading that was either: not done at all, or not done correctly. If this was the States the Fire Marshall would have shut the theater down on the spot and a fine would have been administered.

#2 - SECURITY - They should have remained on scene to avoid the rush back inside and to assure people that "everything was okay." About the giggling - Cops should be always aware the people watching their every move, even their facial expressions and gestures. They are the symbol of authority, during good times and bad. By the way, did Security remain on the scene until the movie was over?

#3 - FIRE DEPARTMENT - They have a lot of gear to put on and getting people ready. Maybe they should run regular fire/disaster drills to both base theaters since they are the places where the most people would get hurt in the event of a fire?

IN CLOSING - This could have been prevented by good heads-up management, common sense, and people who "think on their feet." Somebody screwed up, a lot of people were there, and I would hope somebody with some rank on their sleeve will kick some butts and take some names to avoid this when something really bad could happen. You only see the MWR Big Managers when they can be seen in the spotlight with the big-name entertainers, like Flo-Rida, or Smash-Mouth; otherwise they sit on their butts in their offices to figure out how to waste the money that the NEX makes for them. There are too many people in the upper-strata of MWR Yokosuka Management who have been in Japan too long and they are reluctant to change anything. Shuffle the deck - get rid of the dead wood - make people rotate to other jobs - hold people accountable.

Captain Weed - If you are reading this, here is my advice. Get your Security Officer, MWR Director, and Fire Marshall together in a room and tell them to get their act together before somebody gets hurts unnecessarily.

THANK YOU ADAM - for this most informative first-hand account. The community needs to know what's going on and the "SeaRag" ain't the place to find it. It's right here.

Comments Received On My Facebook Wall: http://www.facebook.com/yokosukabase

I hope they refunded everyone's money!
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hey it wouldnt let me reply to the posted link but.....i have a friend who works at the theater and she said that there were a couple things that might have happened. first, they were trying to cool out the theater so they were opening windows and doors and someone might have opened the fire door that says "do not open" and it pulled the alarm. ... Read Morehaha stupid. then someone might have just pulled a prank and pulled the alarm themselves. lastly, since there were so many people, and it was already hot, the 500 people packed in there could have caused the alarm to go off.

For the person that wrote about the heat:

- I forgot to post it on my original post, but you are actually correct. At the beginning of the movie, before the fire alarm, the entire movie theater was very very hot.
I had a shirt, sweater, and jacket on. I had to go down to just a shirt, because you couldn't really breathe with all the hot air floating around.

Either way, I think they need to have procedures in place for over packing, and in the case that a fire alarm is pulled or emergency situation causes everyone to leave the theater in a hurry.

Going back into the theater was very unorganized. They may of had good intentions by opening the doors and drawing in cold air, but it still caused everyone to remain outside in the cold for 30 minutes.

I did notice however when we were all led back in, the temperature inside the theater was perfect! The upper windows inside the theater were also open at the time, and that definitely helped the atmosphere.

Wow...what a horrible situation. I probably would have left also...especially if I was on a time constraint of some type, or thought I was fairly certain that I wasn't going to get my seat back. Personally, I avoid huge crowds like that on purpose.
MWR is in no way affiliated with the NEX. MWR is broken into different classifications. Some are required to make money to support the events that MWR puts on (such as clubs/restaurants).
I understand that a lot of facilities on base are short staffed. We see the listings weekly in the Seahawk, but this doesn't include the Japanese hires that are lacking. There's a lot of work that goes behind running any establishment that not everyone sees unless they've actually worked in that position. I guarantee you that management (NEX, MWR, etc) puts in more hours than the standard 40 (some even more than double) hours a week. Unless you are watching these people 24/7, I don't feel it's a fair assesment to say that only show their faces at big events and spend the rest of their time on their butts thinking of how to spend money.
As for security laughing their butts off, it probably wasn't appropriate, but different people handle situations differently. Some, instead of getting mad about wasting their time for something unnecessary would rather laugh and find the brighter side of the situation. As a customer, I know I would have.

Hey Krush - Sounds like you've got a soft spot for the MWR folks who supposedly work so hard wasting the money that the NEX generates from slave-driving their employees. I wonder if you work for MWR and have been "institutionalized" by them? You are correct that MWR and NEX are separate activities, both "Non-Appropriated Funded Activities" for the most part. The NEX generates a profit which goes almost entirely to MWR. Now, how MWR uses that money always has, and always will be, a BIG MYSTERY. They never, ever, publicize what they use it for to anyone on the base, other than their own weenies and maybe the CO and the XO.

Now, back to the original subject of the blog. I decided to take a chance and went to see 2012 a couple of hours ago at the Fleet Theater. Everything went smoothly, no alarms, no mass-exodus, but I noticed no manager on duty inside the theater. As a matter of fact, I was sitting towards the back and saw at least TWENTY KIDS running up and down the aisles during the movie. Now, I know what some people are thinking - "You should have asked for the manager if it bothered you that much." Point is - I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO! If there was a manager on duty s/he would have been obligated to stop the running back and forth which didn't happen. Now, if that's because of lack of funding or staffing I don't know.

Oddly enough I did notice the exit door that goes out to Kinnick open. The temperature inside was perfect. Maybe that was because of what happened last night?

Yes, I do work for MWR, and I do work very hard, although you have already stated otherwise without knowing what it is that I do. It's a shame that you feel the need to attack me when I have never done a thing to you, nor without you knowing me.
I apologize that you feel like you aren't informed as to what events MWR hosts. MWR has a monthly magazine that comes out called "Focus" which provides numerous pages of offerings including give aways, discounted tickets, services, etc.
And I agree...no, you shouldn't have to go looking for staff (management or other) to control kids that are obviously out of control. But here's another question...where are the parents?

Rotsa,

You are harsh on MWR criticism, but accurate in Fire Dept, Security and in this case "base theater" preparations and handling of this situation. You have good insight and assessment into the different aspects, which is easy in hindsight.

I hope such ideas are used for future training, drills and mitigation of potential and actual mass casualty emergencies.

Dear Krush - Geez dude, don't take it so personally. You are, indeed, institutionalized and it shows by your responses. Wait until you screw up, or get caught bad-mouthing the organization you so faithfully work for, then you'll see what I mean. Oh, about Focus "magazine." It should be called LISTING, not FOCUS, because it doesn't focus on anything really. They should get rid of it and go completely on-line, save the money and use it to benefit single sailors. Have you ever noticed how many of those Focus magazines lie untouched in those dispensers all over the base and in the clubs?

The deckplate employees at MWR do indeed work hard and aren't very well compensated. A big chunk of the money is wasted by the director and his buffoonish group of division managers. Money is also wasted on paying the useless workers at the Ikego campground. Thousands of dollars worth of equipment,nothing but junk, because the employees aren't intelligent enough to use a grease gun but they sure know how to ride around in a 4x4 on company time.

Hey Adam, my husband and I were also there that night. You've pretty much described everything in detail of what happened too. We think it was probably the hot temperature inside the theater too. I wonder what truly caused the alarm to go off? Anyway, I just hope lessons were learned. We waited patiently and returned back to our original seats after all. Thanks for sharing this Adam!

Rotsa Luck- Everything you post is so extremely negative. I get it....it's your "thing". You reply with some sarcastic remark or witty reply that you think is funny. It's getting old. Quit the "Debbie Downer" routine, pop some Zoloft, or start socializing with real people. I think it's ridiculous for you to attack Krush and pretend like you know how hard they work. I'm a bit astonished that you were ever an Ombudsman because your lack of tact or helpfulness on this board is clear.

I personally have had very good experiences with the MWR programs here (especially in Ikego). I was at a showing of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs at the Benny Decker and the power went out. They asked everybody to remain calm, and ended up issuing vouchers for a free movie. I thought it was handled well.

Adam Jones and All Concerned,

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I do not want to come off as opining however your perspective is a little skewed concerning the recent Theater incident…and, for that matter, other issues listed above.

For the record, the referenced 2012 showing at the Fleet Theater had less than 500 tickets sold and the seating capacity for the facility is over 600. This means there were in excess of 100 empty seats in the auditorium.

As for the other anti-MWR commentary within this forum, I have NO COMMENT because I would exhaust myself in responding to all of the speculative opinions which are based upon emotions NOT facts!

Lola,

You may be correct with less than 500, but that still doesnt mean that individuals that visited that night were not standing and couldnt find a seat.

I give a few reasons that possibly could of happened:

1) Teens getting in Free: Dont say it doesnt happen, because I have seen first hand, it happen many many times. We have all been teenagers, and know its happened once or twice to me actually. Those free teenagers free up seats, that never get on record, and could possibly be the problem. Do I think that caused an extra 100 people into the theater. Probably not. But its still a possibility to account for 10-20 free.

2) The seats are all first come first serve..
- No one ever chooses to sit directly next to someone. So even though your saying about 100 seats or tickets were never sold that night, doesnt mean people couldnt find a spot.

Lets say there was this example of seats..
X = Possible seat arrangement
0 = Someone sitting in the seat

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
00 000 0 00 00 00 000 00 00 = 7 open seats possible from a row

7 seats per isle multiplied by x amount of isles may be the reason why people couldnt find a seat.

Lets say you had a group of 4, group of 5, and group of 3 all trying to find seats..

Well there isnt anything available, because the closest seats open would be 1 by itself..

You cannot deny that this doesnt happen, because I know it does...


What do Japanese Theaters do?

- They assign every single seat to people through a # system..
Each seat is accounted for prior to you being allowed into the theater. This works, and is the reason why Japanese have such a way with customs and traditions.. Example: Single file lines going through escalators, never over crowding in theaters.... I think us as Americans should use these examples and learn from them.

I dont want to comment much about how MWR is run, or how they use their funding because its a subject I dont know much about, so I won't comment on it.. But what I will do, is recommend, that a ticket based system be an investment that MWR looks into. Currently you use the receipt based system, but that still doesnt change the fact that people still come in with the first come first server methods..

Imagine getting onto an airline with a first come first serve... Look at how this would cause problems. Could you even imagine the arguing that would occur.. Hey thats my seat.. No thats mine.. No I have kids and a wife, I need all those 4 seats.. Blah Blah.... Yay Yay... Complain Complain Complain...

To avoid these situations, we have to get things organized, and learn from mistakes. This wont be the last time that are theaters are over crowded, and someone has trouble finding a seat.. Why does it have to be that someone doesnt know where they are sitting prior to coming to a theater. I guess I am just use to Japanese theaters..

Of course someone will comment, that the $3 that we pay, is cheaper than going out in town and paying $18 for the same movie. With the $ that people have commented on above with the MWR excess or choices they use the $ for, I think it could be well worth a new ticket based entry, which could also fix the FREE entry problem that I know you know is out there. If you didnt, or dont think its a problem, your BLIND! I have seen it with my own eyes. I could care less about it, because I dont care. Teens are going to be teens..

I LOVE the Focus magazine, I get it every month and read it front to back. I just think that there are some people who are happiest when they are down and they love to bring everyone else down with them, like Rosta Ruck. Obviously you're an unhappy person, and I'm sorry you feel that way, but the MWR over here is great, there's always something going on and a lot of family activities as well. Just last week there was a "Turkey Shoot" archery contest for kids at the Campgrounds. It was only $10! For the whole morning! And of course I wish there were things that were done different, but come on, none of us are going to get everything we want, grow up.
The MWR provides much needed services over here, I'm grateful for everything they do.

MWR is Japan is doing an adaquate job. However, I have to question the response time for the fire department. I hesitate to criticize because their job isn't the easiest or most desireable, but one can't overlook the fact that they are about a 1/2 mile away! Why so long to respond?