Fire at Central High

Have you ever been in a fire? Or evacuated from a building because of a fire?

I can answer yes to both of those questions.

My sophomore year of Central High School in Davenport was when my high school caught fire and it happened on National Smoke Out Day.

I was in the band room playing my bass clarinet. I asked permission from my band teacher to go use the restroom and left. Immediately when I entered the hallway my throat began to burn and I smelled the distinct smell of wood chips burning.

I went back into the band room and told my teacher I smelled something burning and asked him if he could go check it out. He told me to sit down and to continue practicing because nothing was burning.

Not but a minute later our school secretary?s voice was on the loudspeaker saying, ?Evacuate the building; this is not a drill. Get out of the building now!?

My teacher didn?t wait for further instruction and told us all to leave.

When I got into the hallway there were no fire alarms going off. The hall was starting to get filled with smoke, so we took the nearest exit, which was the cafeteria doors. Later I learned this would be directly over where the fire was.

I was told to go stand on the sidewalk and wait for further instructions. It was early November and it began to drizzle outside. I remember being cold because we weren?t allowed to carry coats to our classes. Mine was still in my locker on the fifth floor.

After standing on the sidewalk for what seemed like an eternity, I noticed my fellow classmates began to leave. I didn?t know what to think of this and decided to go check out what the firefighters were doing.

They were going into the basement of the school with their oxygen masks on but I didn?t see any flames anywhere. I overheard someone say a student was smoking in the wood shop class and put the cigarette in the ductwork when he saw the teacher coming. Anger started to rise in me. Why would anyone risk the lives of 1,250 students and 200 staff members just so he or she wouldn?t be caught smoking?

A few minutes later all of the students were taken to the gym at Palmer College. Once there we had to sit and wait for further instructions. Some students were crying hysterically and others were asking if they could leave or if they could call their parents. At 11:30 a.m., we go the OK to go back into the school to get our coats but nothing else.

I went to my locker, got my coat and began walking home. By this time it had started to snow and I was getting tired. My friend saw me walking home and asked me if I wanted a ride. I took him up on his offer. Before he dropped me off at home we went to the local TV station where his mom worked to let her know we were OK.

The news anchor was joking that he could interview us for a ?first hand? account of the fire, but I declined. I never really liked being in front of a camera, even back then. He updated us on what the cause of the fire was and we went about our merry way.

When I got home my brother was sitting on the couch waiting for me. In the mass chaos I had forgotten all about him. He yelled at me for leaving him and then hugged me. This took me by surprise because he never really showed his emotions.

Then he said, ?Do you think we should call Mom and tell her??

Our mom was at work and didn?t have access to the radio or TV at the time.

I remember what she said to this day when I told her.

?There was a fire at your school? Seriously??

When she got home she asked us to tell her what we knew and if we knew anyone who did it or if we would have school the next day.

The next day school was in session but many students went home because the building smelled like burning wood. I didn?t go home. I stayed and found out our band and orchestra room had smoke damage to it. I was worried about my instrument and hoped we would be allowed back in that room soon.

The next few days there were a lot of rumors about what happened and who caused it. Eventually, the student who was smoking confessed and was suspended from school. I was very angry that he didn?t get charged for having a banned substance on school grounds or with causing the fire. This was the first time I spoke up against administrative rules in the district.

Looking back now I realized the whole situation could have been much worse and I?m glad no one was injured. Also, I am glad schools today practice fire drills regularly and what to do in case of a fire at home or at school. I can honestly say we didn?t have too many drills before the fire happened, because of the amount of students and logistics it took to do one.

However, after the fire at my school the administration decided to start having drills twice a year. They also reviewed their emergency notification process because a lot of the parents didn?t find out about the incident until their kids called them or showed up at home.