Side Bar

September 1, 2009

Smoke on second floor delays start of school day

Emergency evacuation caused by "malfunction in system"
Katie Sint, Online Managing Editor
Smoke observed in the 270s hallway caused a school-wide evacuation today at 7:15 a.m. Students and staff waited outside of the school while fire officials cleared the area. The building was deemed safe to reenter and students returned to the school at 8:15 a.m. and proceeded to their advisory classes.

Students wait outside while fire officials inspect the school. Picture courtesy of Sina Shahamatdar.
Principal Darryl Williams made an announcement concerning the fire over the intercom during the advisory period. According to Williams, the fire was caused by a "malfunction in the system" and that four classes in the 270s hallway would be relocated to other rooms due to smoke. The bell schedule was modified to accommodate lunch periods, shortening first and third period classes.

Williams distributed letters for students to take home today during sixth period. The letter stated that the emergency was caused by a faulty air conditioning unit that was "working improperly." Williams stated that the air conditioning unit that caused today's emergency was replaced.
Digg del.icio.us StumbleUpon reddit Facebook

Discuss this Article

  • NetCast Online (View Email) on September 2, 2009 at 8:26 PM
    Why would the school need to have an AC unit operating at this time of year anyway? It was, at greatest, 67 degrees outside that morning and in the afternoon it barely rises above 78. By the way, I believe that the 3000 or so letters that were printed to alert parents of this occurence were a complete waste of paper (the letter was short enough to have fit on a half sheet, yet each letter was printed on a full sheet)! The administration could have simply left a message on all our answering machines like they do most of the time.
    Reply
    • Alex Bae on September 5, 2009 at 8:01 PM
      Though I understand your "waste of paper" argument, you also have to consider the amount of time it would take to cut 1500 papers. The administration has always sent home letters for events like these; it is their responsibility to ensure that all parents are properly informed (not all Blair students have home phones or answering machines anyways.) The administration had a very short about of time to write, copy, and sort these letters - don't forget that they had to count each letter to determine that each class had the right number (I've stuffed advisory folders ... it takes forever.) As I said before, I understand what you're saying, but there's always a reason for what the administration chooses to do.
      Reply - Parent
  • well you should know on September 4, 2009 at 3:33 PM
    well air needs to circulate somehow. if you shut off the ac system air wont circulate and it'll be musty and blah blah and if you shut it off long enough you'd probably suffocate. and the ac unit was faulty, so what if it was on b/c it was broken?
    Reply
Leave a Comment