Fire drills have become pretty common place at Liberty. Whether planned or set off by accident we are all used to the blaring alarm pulling us out of our classes while we wait for the fire department to arrive. When the fire trucks pull up and the fire fighters realize that there is no emergency, they turn around and we all go back to our normal routine. Up until recently, I was entirely fed up with this common occurrence. We all knew there was no fire, so why did the fire department even show up at all?

Recently, my opinion was changed. After a long night in rehearsal, the fire alarm went off. Feeling annoyed at the unnecessary drill, I trudged outside into the cold. The fire department arrived to check the building. After a walk through, they found that there was, in fact, a fire. One of the props used to make smoke had been dumped into the garbage can and proceeded o burn a hole through the bottom of the bin. I was shocked.

After putting out the fire and clearing out the toxic fumes, the fire fighters allowed us back into the building.

These fire drills may be a nuisance, but they are a necessary one. It is comforting to know that if there is a real fire, we will all be safe. This thanksgiving, I am grateful for our working fire alarms and, most of all, for the fire fighters who continue to come out to the school in case, this time, there is real danger.

Thank you, fire fighters, for being there when we need you, and even when we don’t.