Fire Drill!

We had a fire drill yesterday between 6th and 7th periods. They never come at a good time but then again, neither does a fire! The entry below is from August 27, 2006. 

Today was the fifteenth day of classes. Fire code regulations require that schools have a fire drill every month and since August ends today, we had to get ours in. The first one of the year is always announced. Our Lower School Administrator, Casey Farris, is in charge of fire safety and evacuations. He walked us through the procedures over the intercom. I doubt most of the older students paid close attention- they went where they were directed by the teachers to stand in the parking lot. It is simple for the middle school and high school kids. All they have to know is which stairwell to use and which door to exit from. It isn't so easy for our little ones. Directly below the hall where my classroom sits are our three, four, and five year old kindergartens. While a teenager could figure a way to get out of the building on their own, a three or four year old probably could not and must depend on their teacher for their safety. Fire drills at that age are an adventure...and a little scary!

I hate fire drills; they take away class time. Students love fire drills; they take away class time. They are a necessary evil. You have to have a system for removing close to six hundred people from a structure as quickly and as orderly as possible. We did okay this morning and nailed the drill in one try. Some years, we have had to run through it twice. We will have nine more fire drills this school year, none of them announced because fires aren't announced. No student ever believes there will actually be a fire someday. Their feeling is we have to practice the procedure just so we can practice the procedure. A fire in a school could be catastrophic with an unimaginable loss of life. We would be derelict if we were not prepared for what most see as the remotest of possibilities. Jesus emphasized the concept of preparation. The point he made in his parables was that the second coming, like a real fire, would never be announced and would not be anticipated. In Luke 12:40, the Savior taught, "You also must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." How should we live our lives in light of his warning? We should be ready. There won't be any practice runs or do-overs. Our lives are our preparation so when the signal is given, we won't have any reason to panic. Today, I had to take roll for my home room after our exodus to the far side of the parking lot and everyone was accounted for. On the last day, the roll will be taken for me and I must give an account of how I spent the years God has loaned to me. And like the next fire drill, it could be tomorrow.

Applicable quote of the day:
"Fires can't be made with dead embers nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men."
James Baldwin

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com