Page 20 - Book Eleven Havelock

Page 18 FIRE ALARM Written September 25 2009
Keep in mind that this was FIRE DRILL DAY in Havelock, the one day , or was it twice, in the school year that the fire marshall came to the school and staged a false fire alarm. The fire marshall in Havelock was probably Reeve Seeney, or possibly the one- man police department Bill Aikens or maybe some other distinguished local person assuming this civic responsibility. Everyone was warned ahead of time the appropriate route to flee to safety - in an orderly fashion - out into the school yard - 􏰀stay with your class􏰁 - at a safe distance from the school building - which was to be burning dangerously.
The kids loved it. About 10 years later when I was a teacher myself, I realized that the
enjoyment and excitement of the students during this routine was definitely not shared by the teachers. Fire drills tend to get students all revved up but they make teachers cross trying to re-acquire an atmosphere more suitable to the learning experience. I now know that teachers hate Fire Drill Day. To make matters worse for the teachers and better for the kids, the whole operation had to be staged twice. Between the two fire drills nowadays the public address system will announce, 􏰀 You did very well. It took three minutes. Don􏰂t you think we can do it faster than that ? So when the alarm sounds this time, let􏰂s see if we can set a school record.􏰁
Of course back then we didn􏰂t have a public address system so the Principal, who was my father, or an assigned teacher, made the challenge to each class-room individually. Some classes even got the dignified Fire Marshall himself to make the announcement, 􏰀Yuz done real good. But yuz can do it faster than that􏰁.
So we enjoyed two Fire Drills. Not sure if the Fire Marshall stayed around very long after the second evacuation. He had likely shaken hands with my father, congratulated him, and left. The students were all going back to their classrooms, too soon for us of course. The teachers were likely trying to restore order and get on with their lessons. My own teacher had not completely succeeded in restoring order in our class yet, as evidenced by the fact that Bob Watson and I were still loose, walking side by side up the wide and only staircase that led to our classroom on the second level. Half-way up the stairs there was the chain that was pulled to sound the fire alarms. It was about four inches outside the hand-rail of the stairs. The chain was anchored both at the top and at the bottom so an alarm could be sounded either from upstairs or from downstairs by yanking the chain.
Or from half-way up the stairs as it turned out.
I must have been gesturing as I was relating something to Bob as we ascended together. Anyway, my gesture happened to hit the fire alarm chain and a deafening GONG greeted our ears. ONE gong occasionally did happen by mistake during school hours but one gong was always dismissed as some nasty kid trying to get attention. One gong ordinarily wouldn􏰂t have been a serious occurrence on any ordinary school day, and certainly not a capital offence.
But I already told you twice that this was Fire Drill Day. Not the right day to gesture to a friend while ascending the stairs near a fire alarm chain. The startled look I remember Bob reflected back to me was immediately replaced by wild-eyed panic. We glanced around, and noting that no one saw us, both had the same reaction. Flee!
Minds a blur and rational thinking completely absent, we turned around and ran back down the stairs and kept running until we got to the boys􏰂 washroom down in the lowest level of the school. We crowded into the SAME toilet stall and huddled fearfully. I have never been in a toilet stall with another person before or since. But this time I think we both needed each other􏰂s consolation.
Within a few seconds we could hear the rumbling of hundreds of feet on the floors and on that wide staircase over our heads. Then silence as the school was emptied for the third time that day. Probably in a new record time.
When this THIRD fire drill was over, we melted back into the pack as they all returned to their class-rooms.
In time to hear my father tell a group of perplexed listeners, 􏰀I guess some rascal rang the alarm and ran out the back door.􏰁