Perhaps I'm more risk-adverse than others when it comes to fire alarms, having survived a house fire by evacuating through a second floor window (47 years ago, but still vivid), been involved in a couple of serious shipboard fires, and departed a hotel (modern fake-fireproof stick and brick - mostly stick) via emergency exit during a smoky but fortunately not serious room fire - not my room), any fire alarm sets me to looking for the nearest exit and using it. These days, the greatest risks are from smoke, in particular the toxic gasses given off from polymer-based finishes and furnishings, and at 71, I don't want to test my aged lungs with large doses of of potential deadly fumes.

I am especially troubled by the potential for fires and the difficulty in containing them aboard modern cruise ships. Several years back, watching live video of a cruise ship off Miami, it's stern heavily involved in a fire, and what appeared to be marginally effective on board fire-fighting capability, increase my discomfort while cruising.

Air terminals? The constriction and limiting of exits out the front of terminals due to security and other considerations make me a good candidate for choosing and using an emergency exit to the tarmac and worrying about false alarms later. At best uncomfortable with the TSA, I have no confidence it the training of its personnel for that sort of emergency situation and their reaction to a fire-based evacuation.