A fire alarm went off in the middle of sixth period today, a drill meant to prepare students in the event of an emergency. The school was evacuated in five minutes, 39 seconds, according to Principal Johnny Bush.

“I think it’s important that the students know what to do in case there was a fire. I think it’s important that we do follow the procedure and guide the students out,” said math teacher Judi Charley-Sale regarding the drill. “In the case of a real fire, there should’ve been a little more urgency. We don’t want them running over each other, but they were really dragging their feet. They weren’t interested in leaving,”

Shortly after the alarm went off, had to come on the intercom to remind faculty and students the drill was purposeful. Due to false alarms earlier in the school year, there was some confusion as to whether the drill was real.

“I didn’t know [if it was real]. They sometimes will tell us, but there wasn’t anything saying it was,” said Charles Ward, Spanish and French teacher, who held his students until the announcement was made.

Despite the minor confusion, students were able to follow the procedures correctly.
“I remained calm, I grabbed my valuables and I left,” said Aaliyah Cole (’16).

Bush said overall, the drill was successful.