fire drill

noun3

1. •
   An organized practice to prepare occupants of an office, school or other public building for evacuation in the event of a fire.

   • There was a fire drill this morning. We had to leave the building calmly and go to the birch tree, our meeting point.
2. •
   (US) Any pointless, unproductive, useless, or chaotic activity.

   • Since they've changed the standards again, our previous efforts now just amount to a fire drill.
3. •
   A fire-starting tool consisting of a wooden rod and some primitive means of rapidly rotating the rod on a flat surface like a drill until tinder can be ignited.

   • There is no machine on earth so potent, yet so simple and elegant, as the two sticks of the Native American fire drill — 1999