At precisely 9:57 am on Thursday, Nov. 9th, Amador’s fire alarm went off around the school. Disoriented students evacuated classrooms alongside their teachers, who knew just as little as they did.
“I was very confused when the alarm went off. I was taking an assessment when [everyone] had to get out quickly. Normally, I’m used to them saying it’s just a drill, but this time they weren’t. Everything was moving pretty quickly,” said Mihir Joshi (‘24).
Most teachers were quick to leave their classrooms as soon as they heard the blaring alarm. Remaining calm and collected is one of the most crucial factors to ensure student safety in these circumstances.
“In my head, I knew we were going to be going back soon, but I still got out as quickly as I could,” said AP English Literature Teacher Darren Pagtakhan.
As a seasoned teacher, Pagtakhan knows how these situations tend to unfold.
“I predicted that I’d make it to the small gym before I would hear the signal to turn around, and I was right,” said Pagtakhan.
Other students were more disturbed by the siren, many of whom were in the middle of a DBQ or similar assessment.
“When the fire alarm went off this morning, I was in the middle of an in-class essay for AP Lang. It was disruptive,” said Ayla Parsons (‘25).
Different guesses as to why the alarm went off in the first place were tossed around for some time afterward. The true culprit in this situation was a mishap in a culinary classroom right before the alarm went off.
Regardless of the cause, this morning’s incident gave unsuspecting students and teachers a brief chance to catch fresh air before returning to their regularly scheduled lessons.
“It definitely caught me off guard, but it added action to my morning for sure,” said Joshi.
