

I was in the history hallway, and as soon as we heard the alarms, everybody just started leaving, following the same procedure as.( a) practice fire drill, and next thing you know, we just hear. three gunshots, loud explosions, and all the teachers are telling us to run.Įvery single source that could have emissions connected to it has to be identified and controlled, even if we have a fire drill and we use diesel to set a small fire we have to calculate the amounts. I was in the history hallway, and as soon as we heard the alarms, everybody just started leaving following the same procedure as.( a) practice fire drill, and next thing you know, we just hear. The withdrawal in Afghanistan looked like a ferret fire drill! Sorry I didn't get back to you earlier, I've been involved in a fire drill all afternoon.Ī rod which is rotated on a flat surface like a drill until it is hot enough to start a fire. In this way, fire drill is often used in the same idiomatic way putting out fires or fire fighting is used.) (With the dropping of Chinese the phrase has also often lost its pejorative meaning of pointless and unproductive. Since they changed the standards again, our previous efforts now just amount to a fire drill.Īny chaotic, unexpected activity. "People should be careful how they use language.Wiktionary Rate these synonyms: 1.0 / 2 votesĪn organised practice to prepare occupants of an office, school or other public building for evacuation in the event of a fire.Īny pointless, unproductive, useless, or chaotic activity (sometimes Chinese fire drill, but this usage is becoming outmoded in an age of political correctness) In most cases, the building's existing fire alarm system is activated and the building is evacuated by means of the nearest available exits, as if an emergency had actually occurred. Kow, who is of Chinese descent, said in the context of more extreme comments made by public figures, the content of the video isn't surprising. A fire drill is a method of practicing how a building would be evacuated in the event of a fire or other emergencies. "It obviously taps into a stereotype about Chinese, meaning something which is chaotic, confused, incompetent, that sort of thing." "Some people will find it offensive," he said. The term dates back to a botched fire drill during the Second World War, according to University of King's College professor Simon Kow. "A concern that I have about the term is the racist origin and hence racist overtones," she said in an email. Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, who is a professor at Dalhousie University, said the expression is concerning because of its history. Matt Whitman, Halifax deputy mayor, ordered to apologize for tweets.Whitman went on to say he's "looking forward to campaigning with his constituents in Hammonds Plains-Lucasville." He took it down "after seeing the distraction it became," he said. Whitman pulled the video from YouTube on Sunday. That may the only thing that can be done in a situation like this." "It may just warrant a conversation with the individuals involved. "Who ever gets assigned the file they will look at that and determine whether or not it goes any further," said Cpl. In the meantime, RCMP in Halifax say they're taking a look at the video. Halifax councillor Matt Whitman to keep job while campaigning for another.I have learned from this experience."Īngie Zinck, issues manager and media relations advisor with the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, said Whitman notified the party on Tuesday that he was going to issue the apology on his Facebook page. "I apologize for my lapse in judgment and my unintentional use of what I now understand to be an insensitive term," Whitman said on Facebook. The video drew criticism on Twitter from people who felt it was racist. Amid laughter, he and a passenger run around the car and switch seats.

He yells, "Chinese fire drill!" and then gets out of the car. Less commonly, a Chinese fire drill may refer to a literal fire drill on a school bus or the aforementioned gag executed by misbehaving students on a stopped school bus, sometimes involving use of the rear emergency exit. In the video, Whitman is sitting in a car with another passenger. Halifax regional councillor and Progressive Conservative candidate Matt Whitman is apologizing for a video he posted online last week.
