At 7:25am on April 22, the bell rang as usual, signaling to students that it was time to head to their first-period class. However, out of the usual was the pungent smell of something burning in the 200s wing. Several students’ comments within the hallway said what everyone else was thinking: “Does anyone else smell the fire?” Students crossing from the skybridge were asked by staff to stay outside and not enter the building as the floods of students headed to their first-period class. The bell rang at 7:30 am, and there were still masses of students outside, awaiting instructions. The morning was a crisp, partly cloudy 38 degrees Fahrenheit, and while the sun was up, most of the building was still bathed in shadow.

Not long after the bell rang, the fire alarm went off, and streams of more students who hadn’t been stopped from going inside streamed out of the building, holding signs labeled with their teacher’s names high in the air.

Several students opted to leave as the fire trucks arrived, causing a temporary crowding of the parking lot. Among many of the students interviewed, there was a common consensus that being able to miss part of class was a good way to start the morning, although several students, including Finn DePres and Nate Deitrich, were among the few considering first period as a class they were sorry to miss, and both stated they would have rather had it later in the day.

Student body president Ty Rushforth theorized at the site of the evacuation that whatever caused the fire must have been hot, such as a broken valve, pipe, or microwave. He stated, “I think our lives are at stake here, and the fire department has to save us all, or else I will step in.”

While happy for the opportunity to skip class, Kaitlyn McAllister expressed concern for the safety of the auditorium, home to the drama club and class for up to 7 hours every day, where their production of Les Miserables is nearing completion. The show opens on May 2nd, and the day prior to the evacuation, the pit orchestra moved into the theater to practice with the actors. She expressed that the show would be in trouble if they weren’t able to utilize the theater to perfect their show with such a short time before opening night. Fortunately, the theater was unscathed by the supposed fire.

Another student, Eleanor Seigel (10), was worried about leaving her personal belongings in the building. She expressed how unsafe it would be if her phone got broken and she would be unable to contact her family. “I feel sad. What if the school blew up and my phone was in there and then I couldn’t text my mom? I think that’s a safety hazard, honestly. I need my phone for texting my mom specifically,” said Siegel.

Many students were hoping for the fire evacuation to be an excuse to go home for the day, but to their great disappointment, the school was cleared before the first period was over. It turned out that the cause for the burning smell was simply dust that had gotten moved the previous day under construction work. Filters were being changed, and some of the dust settled on heaters that ended up burning it. “No actual fire was noted, and there’s nothing malfunctioning as far as the electrical system goes,” said Michael “Moose” Janke, head of school security. He expressed no concern about a safety issue as there was no real fire. Even so, the fire department arrived at the scene quickly. “The response time was remarkable. All of our systems—our fire suppression and the fire detention system—were great,” said Janke. He was impressed with the students and staff for their efficiency during the evacuation. “These things always come as a surprise, and it’s good that we have these drills. I’m real thankful that we have great cooperation from the staff and students in the event that something should actually happen,” he finished.