Breaking News: Fire Alarm Interrupts 4th Period

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Julia Matuszek

Students standing outside due to the fire alarm interrupting class.

By Wyatt Zwik and Lexi Lee

Today, Wednesday October 24th, at approximately 11:00, the fire alarm went off during 4th period, disturbing classes throughout the building. The alarm was not caused by an actual fire.

“We had a fire alarm censor go off in 1196 which is a custodial closet. So when that goes off it sets off the system. There was not [an actual fire]. It’s good training for the fire department,” assistant principal Mark Rigby said.

Due to the confusion, many students were unsure whether the alarm was due to a drill or an actual fire, and believe staff should be more communicative during the alarms to lessen the fears of students.

“I think that they [the faculty] should tell us if its a drill or not, we were all scrambling around and didn’t know what to do. When we went inside, we still didn’t even know what happened. I think the communication should be enhanced,” senior Stephana Ocneanu said.

Substitute teacher Michael Deeter noticed that many students were texting on their cell phones while walking down the halls and stairs while exiting the school, and believes that it is very irresponsible and puts students in more danger.

“It’s the most dangerous thing that I saw in the hallway, it’s practically the most dangerous thing anybody did going out,” Deeter said. “People who were going down the stairs were on their phone. I saw people who were backed up, unable to move efficiently, because someone in front of them was on their phone.”

Classes have resumed and the school day will carry on as scheduled.