Multiple fire alarms on August 25 catch students off-guard

The distinctive ring of a fire alarm sent students and staff to outside safe zones during fifth period on Tuesday, August 25.  As students finally returned to their classes approximately 25 long minutes later, they were left with one question: did fire really break out on campus?

According to the administration, no.  The school-wide alarm was triggered by a heat detector in the cafeteria.  An opened convection oven washed a wave of heat over the detector, and the sudden spike in temperature activated the alarm.  The matter should have been remedied in about five minutes, but a faulty module prevented the alarms from being silenced. The administration discovered this only after testing numerous solutions, thus forcing students and teachers to pause for much longer than usual.

Principal April Scott stated that the unexpected fire alarm was beneficial in the sense that a separate problem, the faulty module, was identified and resolved.  But, rest assured —according to facilities manager Chris Kenney, the heat detection system contains a multitude of sensors so that safety is constantly ensured despite such problems.

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