I pulled the fire alarm at work today

I was headed downstairs to another floor, and as I was approaching the door to the stairwell, a man came around the corner and said hello. He said it in such a way that suggested there was more he wanted to say. I looked at him, and he was obviously not an employee. He was dressed VERY casually and had a walkie-talkie. "Could I ask you something?" he said. I assumed he was lost or as confused as I always am when someone directs me to the 'northwest' conference room. As if that means anything to those of us not walking around the office with compasses. When I told him he could, he said, pointing to the fire alarm lever, "Will you pull that?" Um...this feels like a trick. I wanted to respond to this man, obviously crazy, that no, I would absolutely not pull the fire alarm. Are you insane?

At that moment a woman, also with a walkie-talkie, came around the corner and, seeing my hesitation, told me to go ahead. It was my chance for a "free pull," she said. I refrained from reminding her that I'm not five, that getting a "free pull" on a fire alarm is nowhere near my bucket list. I asked if the alarm would sound, they said no, that the sirens had been turned off. That this was a check to make sure employees know where the alarms are and how to use them. And that is how I, TJN, pulled the fire alarm lever at work today. Strange that even though I'm not five, I still found myself smiling as I did it.