On October 2nd, many students were surprised by a fire drill after school during club hours. To many, this was a first-time occurrence, while others recalled similar events from previous years. Many students want to know how often these disturbances will happen.
According to Delsie Sissoko, Skyline’s Physical Director/AP who scheduled fire drills for Skyline from 2020 to 2024, Michigan schools are required to have at least five fire drills total per year. After-school drills fit into those five. In other words, unless you stay after school frequently, it’s unlikely you’ll get caught up in a drill.
According to Sissoko, the first after-school fire alarms went off two years ago after a student triggered the alarm by accident. “We didn’t know at the time that a student accidentally pulled the fire alarm, but our athletes and those in the building didn’t really know what to do, so that was a wake-up for us.” Since then, the school has focused on making sure people are safe and prepared whenever they are in the building.
However, because clubs don’t meet as often as regular classes do, a fire drill can be pretty disruptive and frustrating. “It’s not like everyone learned a ton or was a ton more prepared,” says Hikali Hiraga, (‘28) who was in the Speech and Debate club that afternoon. Another club member, Olivia Szezpanski (‘28), says “I don’t think it was necessary, especially because not everyone stays after school every day. I could have done without it.”
Not all clubs were affected negatively. Christopher Naar, History/AP Gov Teacher and host for the World Cuisine club, says, “I can see how some might say that, but for my club, they were actually pretty excited; we just ended up holding the club outside.”
