SAK saves the day...

[Joe Demko]

This incident at work yesterday would have been almost funny if weren't for the damage to school (taxpayer) property.
At the beginning of the last period of the day, I heard screams from the lab room next to mine. Normally, this means a fight so I went charging over to get things under control. I almost got trampled by the students stampeding out of the room. I shouldered through the crowd into the room and found a geyser.
Apparently, one of the misguided youths in the class had decided to test his strength on one of the faucets. He snapped the fixture off flush with the top of the lab table. We have good water pressure here, so the water spout in question was actually blasting right through the suspended ceiling tiles. The fluorescent lights in the ceiling were soaked, a nearby tv and vcr were soaked and there was water everywhere.
So, the first thing I did was pull the circuit breaker for that room, since I heard once that electricity and water are a poor combination. Then I grabbed a garbage can and put it over the geyser while I looked for a shut-off valve. (Here's the SAK part.) Each lab table has its own set of shut off valves for gas and water, but they are behind an access panel that is held in place with six philips head screws. I let go of the garbage can to fish my Victorinox Hercules from my pocket and was amused that the water actually drove the plastic garbage can up against the ceiling. So, I got a coworker to hold the can in place while I undid the screws and groped around for the valve. After getting thoroughly soaked, I found it and shut the water off. Final damages haven't been calculated yet, but we're out a tv and vcr for sure plus repairs to the ceiling in that room and the one below, plus repairs to the plumbing.

 

[Griff]

Feels good to get to really use them, huh?
I was feeling guilty there for a while, only pulling the toothpick out now and then from my new Mechanic,
http://www.newgraham.com/victorinox.htm (about 3/4 of the way down the page) then something like this comes up. Good for you! To be honest, I was afraid that you were going to say something about the "zero tolerance no weapons policy" PC stuff I keep reading about in schools. Maybe you can help the students see the "tool" angle next time it comes up. Anyway, I'm glad that you kept your head under pressure.

 

[Ol' Badger]

True Story

I was working part time as a Rent-A-Mall Ninja and I always had a SAK in my shirt pocket and all the un-tactical guys made fun of the lump in my shirt. Well I left it in the truck to appeas this losers and guess what happend? A little girl got her shoe lace caught in the escalator and she was a screaming an the father was a tugging at her little foot. Well I reached for my pocket and what did I find? Nothing at all to cut the shoe lace with. Fortunatley a Repair guy was nearby and used his box cutter to free the child.
Since that day I carry two knives. The SAK in my front pocket and a Uber-Tactical blade in the back. Never Never listen to what the Numfs say. Lay just sit around and watch as things happen anyway.

 

[hso]

If the TV and VCR were not energized when they got wet you may find that they will be fine if allowed to dry completely before being turned on.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Screams, students trampling out. Boy, I thought the students had created a glow-in-the-dark zombie that needed the gang at THR to kill it. Fortunately, it was only a wayward geyser. BTW, how long is your suspension for bringing that deadly SAK to school or did the adminstrators figure out that SAK doesn't stand for semiautomatic A-K.

 

[Joe Demko]

Not only am I not suspended, I got a commendation for limiting the damage.
As for the screams and trampling, it doesn't take much to turn a room full of teenagers into a mob.
Frankly, if I hadn't been concerned about the electricity, I'd have been happy to stand back and enjoy the spectacle of a roomful of the little perishers getting a good drenching.