So I am on a business trip in Madison, WI. I am staying in a hotel (a Hilton to be exact) and I was just hanging out in my room, watching TV, and doing a bit of vaping in my boxers. Then it happened.... the fire alarm went off. I about pooped my pants it caught me so off guard. I ran down to the lobby to explain what happened when the fire department showed up and started asking questions. When they found out that my room was the one that tripped the alarm, they instantly started treating me like a criminal. You would have thought I just murdered their first born child.
Eventually I got the "you shouldn't smoke inside, it's against the law" lecture from one of the firefighters and when I told him I didn't realize it was an issue in a private room where I'm not actually smoking, he went off on me. He told me that regardless of what it is, any type of "smoking" is against the law and that I should have just told someone I was smoking and it would have saved everyone from a headache. He just could not comprehend why I was confused as to why the alarm went off when there was no smoke present. He got my name, phone number, and date of birth from me right before he left, not sure what that was about. The hotel attendant was much more understanding, to whom I apologized profusely for the chaos I caused. She said it's not the first time it has happened and that she is going to talk to the building manager about some new signs addressing the issue of vaping in the rooms.
After doing some research on my own, I found a few things to be true.
1. Smoke alarms arent necessarily built to only detect smoke. Some can be set off by steam, dust, or any type of aerosol.
2. Dane County, WI just recently (Jan 2015) enacted a ban on vaping indoors and that apparently applies to private hotel rooms as well.
3. Public fire alarms are really fracking loud!!!
Be sure to do a bit of research on local vape laws when you travel, it could save you some trouble and legal issues. Hopefully this doesn't come back to bite me in the ...., it was an honest mistake and had I known, I wouldn't have vaped inside in the first place.
Just thought I would share my story so others may learn from my stupid mistake. Save yourself the embarrassment and look up the laws, ask an employee about rules involving vaping, and for the love of God and all that is holy, don't vape near a smoke detector.
Eventually I got the "you shouldn't smoke inside, it's against the law" lecture from one of the firefighters and when I told him I didn't realize it was an issue in a private room where I'm not actually smoking, he went off on me. He told me that regardless of what it is, any type of "smoking" is against the law and that I should have just told someone I was smoking and it would have saved everyone from a headache. He just could not comprehend why I was confused as to why the alarm went off when there was no smoke present. He got my name, phone number, and date of birth from me right before he left, not sure what that was about. The hotel attendant was much more understanding, to whom I apologized profusely for the chaos I caused. She said it's not the first time it has happened and that she is going to talk to the building manager about some new signs addressing the issue of vaping in the rooms.
After doing some research on my own, I found a few things to be true.
1. Smoke alarms arent necessarily built to only detect smoke. Some can be set off by steam, dust, or any type of aerosol.
2. Dane County, WI just recently (Jan 2015) enacted a ban on vaping indoors and that apparently applies to private hotel rooms as well.
3. Public fire alarms are really fracking loud!!!
Be sure to do a bit of research on local vape laws when you travel, it could save you some trouble and legal issues. Hopefully this doesn't come back to bite me in the ...., it was an honest mistake and had I known, I wouldn't have vaped inside in the first place.
Just thought I would share my story so others may learn from my stupid mistake. Save yourself the embarrassment and look up the laws, ask an employee about rules involving vaping, and for the love of God and all that is holy, don't vape near a smoke detector.
