On Friday, October 11th, 2024, during second lunch for half the school and fourth period for the other half, the fire alarms began blaring around the school, startling students and teachers alike. Of course, many students initially believed that the alarm was the product of a drill, but as they began to rationalize, they slowly realized that this would not have been an optimal time to enforce a drill, as most students were not in their classes.
Students poured out of the building from the lunchroom and their various classrooms, headed towards the lower parking lot, where they knew to go in case of emergency. The remaining question was where they should go to ensure their safety and be accounted for. Many students reported confusion as to where they were supposed to go and which teacher to find in order to be accounted for.
Most students, at the beginning of the evacuation, assumed that it was a drill, and some were thrilled for the opportunity to leave class for a moment and get a breath of fresh air, while others were slightly irritated at the interruption of their class time. “I thought it was a drill at first, to be honest, and then we got out there and they told us it was a fire in the kitchen, and so I just was kind of annoyed. I didn’t want to miss class,” stated senior Henry Requa (12). Junior Jaylynn Tudor (11), explained, “I was really confused, and I don’t have a fourth period, so I didn’t know what to do.”
Most students, however, seemed to be excited with the prospect of something different and thrilling. While on the scene, standing in her assigned location, freshman Annika Hsu (9) reported, “It’s exciting; we get to miss class.” Another freshman, Hadiah Hallam (9), agreed, “I’m actually pretty excited, because this doesn’t happen very often, and it’s kind of a cool experience.”
Our Administration Head of Facilities, Mrs. Grant, as well as our Head of Security, commonly known as Moose, both reported that the evacuation went well and ran smoothly. The building was evacuated in a timely manner, and while there was confusion among the students as to where they were supposed to go and which teacher they were to find, administration claimed the process was still effective and efficient.
There is a current discussion regarding the best place to put teachers in the parking lot as a result of this evacuation and the delay that was caused while students searched. The debate is whether or not to keep teachers in order of room number, as they are now, or line them up alphabetically. According to Mrs. Grant, it is being proposed that they switch to an alphabetically ordered positioning system. “There is a strong possibility, but we need to meet with the safety committee and then with all the teachers in the building. What we want to do is make sure that all students know where to report regardless of [when] the evacuation [occurs].” She explained that she was proud of the student body and teachers that evacuated the building so efficiently, even among the confusion of lunchtime. “An unplanned evacuation provides an opportunity to review and adjust protocols to ensure the safety of students and staff,” she said.
It turns out, in fact, that there was no actual flame ignited at any point. Instead, a panini press in one of the kitchens off of the commons began smoking profusely, more than anticipated, because of a lack of proper cleaning. The smoke triggered the fire alarm, following which the school was evacuated. I am pleased to report that every member of the student body and staff was able to safely avoid the smoking panini press.
The panini press that was responsible for our evacuation has been moved to an area with exhaust ventilation, which will hopefully prevent another trigger of the alarm in the future, so we can all sleep at night knowing that we are safe from further sandwich mishaps. If the problem persists, another panini press will be utilized for the sake of our lunches. When asked what measures will be taken to avoid this kind of hazard in the future, Moose paused for a moment, then replied, “Maybe just check in with the head of the kitchen staff and just make sure that their equipment is clean and sanitized and taken care of.” We can all rest assured that the problem has been taken care of and our school and sandwiches are safe.