A British CSGO player/caster received some huge coverage on Reddit and LiveStreamFails this week following an alarming incident.
ObzTicle – a student in the South West of the UK – was casting a US Fragadelphia CSGO match when his flat’s fire alarm went off at 3am GMT.
To the humour (and ire) of the viewers, the noisy alarm could be heard on stream, and ObzTicle was evacuated from the building. He later returned and continued casting as the alarm regularly went off and on again.
The following clip was featured on gaming YouTuber news channels Scarce and LiveStreamFails – which have been viewed more than 900,000 times between them. It was also picked up by the CSGO subreddit.
What does ObzTicle think about how much the incident blew up online – and what happened to him on the night?
He told Esports News UK: “The fire alarm went off, but only for a few seconds. I assumed it was a drill or a test because we occasionally get them some days – they make sure all the floors are still working. This one seemed kind of odd as it was 3am.
“I unmuted my mic and the alarm went off again. While I was muted for a second time, this alarm went off for a lot longer. I checked outside my flat room and everyone was up at this point. The alarm was still going off and if it goes for two minutes straight, all people inside the building are to leave.
“This is when I talked in the clip telling everyone my building is being evacuated and I’ll be back asap. This clip was posted on Reddit which apparently was on the front page and the clip has been used on one of Scarce’s YouTube videos as well as Twitchfails and probably others.
“Usually during a fire alarm there are marshals around certain areas but this time there wasn’t as much. Once outside, almost everyone was in pyjamas or in clothes they’ve just rushed on to get outside.”
“The alarms in our rooms are very sensitive.”
So what set the alarm off?
“I am still not 100% sure, but at the time people outside said it was caused due to steam from a shower hitting the fire alarm,” ObzTicle explained. “The alarms in our rooms are very sensitive.
“Once everyone was out the building and it was confirmed safe to go back in, everyone was allowed to go back to their rooms. Once I was back in my room, the alarm was going on, off, on, off. I am unsure why, but in the end I was casting through the occasional alarm which seemed to bring some entertainment to the stream.”
I’M ON A @JohnScarce SCARCE VIDEO! https://t.co/uZq3AKaQYF :O
— ObzTicle (@HDN_ObzTicle) November 29, 2016
ObzTicle said: “Overall I am surprised how much this clip has drawn so much attention, but I am happy people found it entertaining in the stream and on other sources. Also, people commenting on the event are glad I casted through the alarm – and the positive comments on the situation were nice.”
Thanks to whoever decided to take a shower at three in the morning – you’ve created quite the clip.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
