So, a few weeks ago we were preparing fire drill. This may be a little known fact to all you non-teachers out there, but word about coming fire drills spreads quickly throughout a school. Especially if you are not in your classroom. I have the advantage of being in the "annex" of our school and so my door faces the school across the street. The fire truck always does the drill at that school first. So, if I hear their alarm go off and see the trucks outside their school, I know to expect a drill at out school within the next half hour. I make sure that I don't start any lessons that can't be stopped quickly (investigating mealworms for example) and I try to keep my kids in the room (no bathroom breaks).
Well, this drill was set to happen just as second grade was heading to prep. I quickly walked my kids to P.E. and went back to my room to grab my attendance folder and emergency bag. I was standing outside my room waiting for the alarm to sound when another second grade teacher came around the corner and asked, "Do you have a pull in your room? The fireman is just around the corner and I need to find the nearest pull and there isn't one in my room." Oh crap. The fireman is just around the corner and here I am standing around. (another side note to all non teacher people - the fireman do not pull the alarm. They randomly grab a teacher and say something like "there's a fire in your trash can" and you have to follow the procedure and pull the alarm. This has never happened to me and is one of my biggest fears in school. Strange I know.) Anyways, I say yes and both of us duck into my room. I turn to prepare myself for the possibility of pulling the alarm. And there is no pull.
Wait - What?! No pull?! I know I have one! I turn to the other side. No pull there either. I swear I'm not crazy. I know I had one! Instead all I find is an electric cover. Like a light switch plate with no switch. CRAP! Now what will I do if the fireman comes to my door.
See it there with the arrows? That's from the beginning of the school year.
The other teacher and I decide to hide (Yes, we really are grown ups. I swear.) I turn out the lights and we hide behind the armoire (the one on the right in the picture).
A few minutes pass with no alarm. Hmm, this is kinda strange. We brave walking to the window to peer out and see classes streaming out. Umm, WTF? I guess we should head out, too. So we do. Although we hear no alarm (and believe me, a fire alarm is not a sound you can miss. and even if you do, flashy lights should be going off as well.)
Turns out, the alarm system in the annex was somehow disconnected and never fixed. Oh fabulous. So if there really was a fire, we would have no way of knowing. And all the pulls throughout the ENTIRE school were taken out. There is now only ONE pull in the front office. (the poor teacher that had to pull the alarm was frantic and on the verge of tears.) Apparently, the school district people came through and "updated" our alarms to make them more sensitive so pulls shouldn't be needed. (does anyone else see a disaster waiting to happen?) The problem is, they didn't bother to tell anyone this. It came as a shock to teachers and administrators alike.
Yet somehow, we passed our fire drill. I know for a fact that one second grade teacher was in her room throughout the entire drill (because of the no-alarm-going-off issue.) Whatever. Hopefully we all don't burn.
Until next time, be fire safe internet people. And send some fire safe vibes my way while you're at it. lol.
1 comment:
Yeah, this definitely sucks. I don't think I get the new system, especially because it obviously doesn't work. How are the alarms supposed to be more sensitive?
Also, I'd love to have you closer. I'd totally suck as a friend in person right now, but it'd be great to see you more than once a year or so.
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