OK, so I think i have bitched about this in the past, but here at work I have a strange situation with my manager. We have a small lab (about 2000 sq ft) and it is occupied by 5 people and many computers and work benches... ...and at my managers desk; a microwave oven, a toaster oven, a George Foreman grill, a toaster and a hot pot. When I joined the company I was a bit taken aback by the cooking being done in the lab and whenever I brought up how bad it was for the equipment and the potential of a fire, I was given the eye roll by my manager. When I complained about the smell, I got the same treatment (He is Iranian and the food he cooks permeates the entire building).
So this morning, I am first in to work, I get my coffee and sit down to clean up our document server. My manager comes in, logs in and heads to the refrigerator to make his breakfast (forgot to mention the fridge sitting next to his desk and not a compact one either, I am talking about a full size Frigidaire...). He pulls out some eggs, bacon and bread and commences to cook his breakfast (on company time (that is another rant)). I start smelling the refreshing scent of burnt toast, just as I hear the emergency sirens getting closer and closer. In walks the Office Manager asking who is burning something just as the fire trucks (yes trucks) pull up out front. Turns out he set off the fire alarm (which is scary since the alarm in the building did not go off). The fire department came in to find out the cause of the alarm and when they saw all his cooking gear (all plugged into the same outlet I might add), they indicated to him that he was violating several fire codes and they would schedule an inspection the moment they got back to the firehouse (3 blocks away).
Just as the fire trucks were pulling away, the General Manager of the company was pulling up. After he found out what just went down, he FREAKED! He came into the lab screaming at my manager telling him to immediately take the cooking stuff out of the lab and to his house. He still has not taken the appliances out of here and the GM is getting more pissed by the minute. I expect him back in the lab any minute to tell him not to do anything else until he clears the lab of kitchen items.
So here we sit, in the lab, with all the doors to the building open, trying to clear the place of burnt toast smell, all the ac units are blasting away, already over 80 degrees outside (supposed to hit over 100 today), and my machines are starting to over heat and shut down. My manager is complaining that it was not that big of deal and sees no reason to move his cooking equipment. He honestly is confused why people are making such a big deal out of it! He did not believe us that the fire department was here until one of the firefighter came in to talk with him. He thought we were pulling his leg?!?!
OK, thanks for reading my rant... I hope some of you got a chuckle out of this story. We are moving out of this building soon and into another nicer place. The GM has already stated that the lab rules are going to be changed to make sure NO cooking gear is allowed in the lab _including_ the fridge. My manager is upset that we are picking on him and is now taking it out on my co-workers (he knows better than to treat me like that...).