By Anna Rushton
Around 4th period on Monday, October 27, a distressingly loud fire alarm went off. Personally, I was just about to leave my Chemistry class when Ms. Savali informed us that the fire alarm was not a drill.
Obviously, my classmates and I went into panic mode, wondering where the fire was. So, along with the other classes in the high school science wing, we collectively silently walked down 3 flights of stairs and evacuated into the grassy area behind the school. I didn’t have my hoodie and it was in the low 40’s outside, so it was freezing. I met up with my other friends and they were all concerned about what could be happening, and I could tell we weren’t going to get answers anytime soon.
Sophomore Ally Nghiem recalled, “I was really confused and also stressed because I left my bag inside since I didn’t know it wasn’t a drill. I wish I could bring it with me!”
After around 30 minutes of being in the cold outside, Middle School Principal Mr. Sottile notified us that we were going to go to the campus gym, which I’m assuming was because of how cold it was outside. So, we all walked to the campus gym. When we arrived, plenty of students were already there, some were on the bleachers and others were in scattered groups sitting on the floor. Questions were being asked back and forth like “What happened?” and “Is the school even on fire?”
Sophomore Thea Bennett said, “I didn’t smell any fire and also it didn’t seem like the teachers were too panicked, so I assumed that we weren’t in any real danger.”
Luckily, she was right. After around 20 minutes of being stuck in the gym, Mr. Sottile told us we were to report back to classes after getting lunch. So we all did.
For those who aren’t aware what happened, High School art teacher Ms. Tetro explained that “the small top loading kiln had rust on it. Essentially, the rust fell onto the shelf in the kiln and the kiln was on low. However, the heat caused the rust to smoke and it set off the alarm.”
Luckily, our school’s fire safety system kept everyone safe and no harm was done to any students or staff.
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