The fire alarm went off yesterday

and I am very grateful that there was no fire.

The alarm went off in the Senior Cat's residence. I went in to see him yesterday and the alarm added a little interest to his day.  

Just as I was signing in one of the other residents came out to the reception area. He is known for being "difficult" and yesterday he was very agitated. He told C..., the lovely lass on reception, that he was going to "throw things, break things and get the hell out of here" and that he "hates this place" and much more. 

Yes, listening to him is disturbing but he rarely does anything. His room is almost bare so that he cannot harm himself but, short of illegally restraining him, there is not much that can be done. He knows what he is doing is wrong but does it anyway.

I prowled off to see the Senior Cat and could hear him still carrying on. A little later the fire alarm sounded. Like all fire alarms it has to be tested on a regular basis and I thought it might be that. When it continued but nobody raised any other sort of alarm I decided it had to be Difficult at work. It was.

One of the staff looked in to reassure the Senior Cat. The alarm went on...and on...and on. It can only be turned off by the Metropolitan Fire Service if it is activated for other than test reasons. Another staff member looked in to check the Senior Cat was not concerned. I had explained by then what I thought might have happened. 

The Senior Cat's response to the third staff member who stopped to reassure him was, "Send him to see me. I'll deal with it." It was said with a slight smile. 

I am still wondering what would have happened if someone had actually sent Difficult to see the Senior Cat. I suspect that, although he now has difficulty even speaking, the still very alert Senior Cat would have given Difficult a dressing down. Why? The third staff member remarked that the Senior Cat sounded "just like the headmaster" at his school. No, he hasn't lost that disciplinary ability.

But I also wonder how you handle people like Difficult. Calling out the MFS for a false alarm is a very expensive business. They had to send three appliances. They had to be ready to help evacuate thirty-eight residents and ensure any visitors and the staff were also out of the building. The Senior Cat is now "bed-ridden" and would need a lot of help. There are at least four other people I pass to go to his room who are in the same position. There would be more people in the other wing and many more who would need some help.

So how should we handle someone like Difficult? Who takes priority? I don't have to face those questions on a day-to-day basis but I do wonder about them.