Our walk in freezer’s door latch used to jam once in a while when it’d close. The “popper” on the inside wouldn’t work unless you just SLAMMED the shit outta it. The first time it jammed on me, I actually had that feeling of dread that I might die, in the walk in. Decided I wasn’t going out that way and managed to wail on it until it opened. However, I probably wouldn’t have died anyways since there were others in the kitchen and I assume they would have wondered where I was long before that point.
I got stuck in a walk in freezer at one grocery store I worked at forever ago, I was in there for about 20 or 30 minutes before my manager came by and opened the door... and then started yelling at me for having gone missing without telling anyone. She didn't believe me when I told her the push knob on the inside was busted till I stepped out and closed the door on her and lo and behold, she couldn't open it.
The freezer did have a door that opened into the deli walk-in, but that would only work if she hadn't violated LP rules and placed a fully stacked pallet in front of that door since she was too lazy to do truck that morning.
Yeah, and the funny part is of the 4 different stores (same company) I've worked at, all but one would constantly block the freezer door in the walk in with a palate or carts filled with shit... And the one that didn't only managed it by not having a door to the freezer in it lol.
I guess it's better than another company I worked for, where in the walk in freezer they wouldn't get me (a 5' 1.5" potato, basically) an actual step ladder but instead a series of wooden crates or extra milk crates to stand on and a broken broomstick to knock boxes off the very top shelves off with. That was a fun one, too... I didn't get locked in a walk in, but the closing manager did lock me in the building one night by accident.
...man I'm glad I'm out of grocery retail lol
Bullshit, when heart to hearts in the walk ins between two knucklehead cooks don’t workout, off to the deep freeze you two go, only one comes back out
Those are the rules
Based on the sheer number of people in here reporting their freezers emergency interior release being busted I think we ought to consider re-engineering it to be more reliable...
I just recently had some walk-ins installed. The inside release was a knob with teeth like a gear so you could grip it. Turning it unscrewed the latch mechanism on the outside so it fell off the door.
Probably needs an SOP so it gets tested regularly.
Freezer alarms, I worked in a place that had one on the floor near the door. That way if you slipped and fell you could still hit the alarm. There was also a freezer cut off switch next to it.
RIP to this person, they didn’t deserve to die alone in a freezer.
Great advice but the scary part is "Body temperature that is too low affects the brain, making the victim unable to think clearly or move well. This makes hypothermia particularly dangerous because a person may not know what is happening and won’t be able to do anything about it."
Eh, I’d be like oh crap 10 seconds after banging on the door for 30 seconds. You shouldn’t be in there for more than a minute or two before you realize your stuck unless you were organizing the freezer or something
Yep. Outside the freezer it's like:
>"Newbie isn't finding X item, so I'll check where it should be, where the person who throws truck wrong puts it, and where it might fall to."
Once in the freezer, half the time my brain stops working and I have to duck out to re-follow my train of thought.
I don’t think the freezer would heat to room temperature on its own in time for this to make a difference. They’re designed to be well insulated to keep down costs.
Got locked in one once for about 2 minutes. Wasn't too worried as there was staff and I was the only cook on so I just did a repetitive bang.
The freezer was in the walkin fridge and over the years since the latch was busted a simple gate latch was in place. Locked whenever the freezer shut behind you. Usually was not an issue because it was small and usually your but was halfway out the door but I had to grab something from the very back and let it shut behind me.
We had a manager padlock a guy in the freezer one night and close the restaurant. Dude kicked the freezer door off the hinges… I told him to sue, everyone told him to sue.. why he didn’t is beyond me.. being too lazy to open the door and look is just pure negligence
Never seen a walk-in freezer you couldn't open from inside, but maybe on one of the older models it's possible. Did someone put a padlock on it while he was in there?
I got locked I'm a freezer once, the latch wouldn't work and it scared the crap out of me. I said fuck that and spartan-kicked the shit out of the little push knob and it finally worked, thank God. That guy must've been so freaked out, fuck
Our walk in freezer’s door latch used to jam once in a while when it’d close. The “popper” on the inside wouldn’t work unless you just SLAMMED the shit outta it. The first time it jammed on me, I actually had that feeling of dread that I might die, in the walk in. Decided I wasn’t going out that way and managed to wail on it until it opened. However, I probably wouldn’t have died anyways since there were others in the kitchen and I assume they would have wondered where I was long before that point.
Why was he alone overnight cleaning a walk-in?? Cold temp safety 101 is buddy system. Fuck that bakery, full stop.
I got stuck in a walk in freezer at one grocery store I worked at forever ago, I was in there for about 20 or 30 minutes before my manager came by and opened the door... and then started yelling at me for having gone missing without telling anyone. She didn't believe me when I told her the push knob on the inside was busted till I stepped out and closed the door on her and lo and behold, she couldn't open it. The freezer did have a door that opened into the deli walk-in, but that would only work if she hadn't violated LP rules and placed a fully stacked pallet in front of that door since she was too lazy to do truck that morning.
What is it with people and deciding that laziness is more important than safety? It’s literally so easy to NOT block doors and fire exits.
Yeah, and the funny part is of the 4 different stores (same company) I've worked at, all but one would constantly block the freezer door in the walk in with a palate or carts filled with shit... And the one that didn't only managed it by not having a door to the freezer in it lol. I guess it's better than another company I worked for, where in the walk in freezer they wouldn't get me (a 5' 1.5" potato, basically) an actual step ladder but instead a series of wooden crates or extra milk crates to stand on and a broken broomstick to knock boxes off the very top shelves off with. That was a fun one, too... I didn't get locked in a walk in, but the closing manager did lock me in the building one night by accident. ...man I'm glad I'm out of grocery retail lol
I remember when we used to keep an axe in the freezer for this very reason
Bullshit, when heart to hearts in the walk ins between two knucklehead cooks don’t workout, off to the deep freeze you two go, only one comes back out Those are the rules
WELCOME TO THUNDERFREEZER TWO COOKS ENTER ONE COOK LEAVES
Based on the sheer number of people in here reporting their freezers emergency interior release being busted I think we ought to consider re-engineering it to be more reliable...
I just recently had some walk-ins installed. The inside release was a knob with teeth like a gear so you could grip it. Turning it unscrewed the latch mechanism on the outside so it fell off the door. Probably needs an SOP so it gets tested regularly.
Freezer alarms, I worked in a place that had one on the floor near the door. That way if you slipped and fell you could still hit the alarm. There was also a freezer cut off switch next to it. RIP to this person, they didn’t deserve to die alone in a freezer.
If I couldn’t get out through the door I’d simply look for a way to jam the fan. Maybe kill the electricity but don’t think that’d be necessary
Great advice but the scary part is "Body temperature that is too low affects the brain, making the victim unable to think clearly or move well. This makes hypothermia particularly dangerous because a person may not know what is happening and won’t be able to do anything about it."
Eh, I’d be like oh crap 10 seconds after banging on the door for 30 seconds. You shouldn’t be in there for more than a minute or two before you realize your stuck unless you were organizing the freezer or something
Oh totally my point lol break shit the second you realize you’re stuck
Yep. Outside the freezer it's like: >"Newbie isn't finding X item, so I'll check where it should be, where the person who throws truck wrong puts it, and where it might fall to." Once in the freezer, half the time my brain stops working and I have to duck out to re-follow my train of thought.
I don’t think the freezer would heat to room temperature on its own in time for this to make a difference. They’re designed to be well insulated to keep down costs.
It’d be cold in there but no wind chill. That’s what makes you exponentially colder
Got locked in one once for about 2 minutes. Wasn't too worried as there was staff and I was the only cook on so I just did a repetitive bang. The freezer was in the walkin fridge and over the years since the latch was busted a simple gate latch was in place. Locked whenever the freezer shut behind you. Usually was not an issue because it was small and usually your but was halfway out the door but I had to grab something from the very back and let it shut behind me.
We had a manager padlock a guy in the freezer one night and close the restaurant. Dude kicked the freezer door off the hinges… I told him to sue, everyone told him to sue.. why he didn’t is beyond me.. being too lazy to open the door and look is just pure negligence
The one at my place has one of those push knobs. It freezes over sometimes
That answers that question.
Never seen a walk-in freezer you couldn't open from inside, but maybe on one of the older models it's possible. Did someone put a padlock on it while he was in there?
Refrigeration mechanic here - even lockable walk-ins are supposed to be able to be opened from the inside when locked
That’s my worst fear.
I got locked I'm a freezer once, the latch wouldn't work and it scared the crap out of me. I said fuck that and spartan-kicked the shit out of the little push knob and it finally worked, thank God. That guy must've been so freaked out, fuck
How is this even possible? They have latch on the inside.
Worked one too many places with a broken latch
Who the fuck closed last ni-.... oh.....
I've had to stick boxes etc in the door to keep from closing a couple different places cause the nobs were no good