Inspector Sands

[Dr Jekyll]

What is the point of this so called 'code' for announcements at stations? Surely by now nobody actually believes that every station employs an inspector called Sands whose job is to dash about the place in response to public address announcements, so why not just say what they mean?

They might as well make an announcement saying "a fire alarm has probably gone off, or perhaps it's a fire or a bomb scare, but we won't tell you which so just carry on as normal".