A British radio station was on the air as usual last week, when the fire alarm suddenly went off. In any other business, you'd leave the building. But when you're in broadcasting, it's a bit of a dilemma - do you stay on the air until it's confirmed or do you evacuate just in case? 

In this case, it was BBC 2, no small outlet, and the host decided to play Gary Numan's "Are Friends Electric?" and then left. Inevitably, the place went silent when the recording ran out. 

All of which prompts me to wonder: did this ever happen to you and what did you do? I have to admit it thankfully never took place during my time in radio, but it did happen once when our TV newsroom was getting ready for the 6 PM major.

It was chaos, since it happened during the busy prep time for the show and we were all forced out in the parking lot, waiting for the all clear while those precious seconds to airtime quickly ticked by. We lost at least 20 minutes, before getting word it was a false alarm, but by then it was chaos back inside.

Twenty minutes may not seem like a lot, but when every minute counts to get things ready, it was one of the most exhausting few hours I've ever spent. 

Somehow we got the show on the air and I'm still not quite sure how we did it. 

By the way, the very best part of the British story - and they were also able to return within 15 minutes of dead air - is what happened after the announcer came back: 

"He noted they were canceling a planned segment on cremations in the wake of the saga."

Because what else would you do? (Why they were doing a cremations segment in the first place is beyond me, but I think that's hilarious.)

Major radio station forced off air for first time in decades after fire alarm sparks chaotic evacuation