4th Grade Reading Comprehension (Set 4) - Public Place

_____When you are in a large public place like a movie theater or sports arena do you ever think about how you could get out if you needed to?
_____Most people do not bother to think about how they will leave a place. They act as if they will always be able to get out the same way they got in. They don’t look for the EMERGENCY exits and plan what to do if they need to get out quickly. Once in a while, this can cause a problem.
_____In a town in Georgia, for example, about thirty people were INJURED, some SERIOUSLY, as they rushed to exit from a dance hall. Someone inside the ballroom set off a tear gas bomb and everyone ran for the same door. The people hurt each other in their hurry to get out the way they came in.
_____The town’s sheriff said that there were between three hundred and four hundred people in the building when the tear gas bomb exploded. The sheriff told a newspaper reporter that there were several doors in the building, but that everyone ran for the one door they knew. If the people had known where the other exits were, it is likely that no one would have been hurt. If all the exit doors had been used, people would not have stepped on each other trying to get out the one door all at the same time.
_____The next time you are in a public place, take a look around. Notice where the doors are. Look for the signs that say “EXIT.” It will only take a minute to do this. It might be the best minute you ever spent.