Many enjoy the fresh taste of the hot paninis from the Troy High School cafeteria. However, on Oct. 30, 2023, the Troy High School kitchen was in chaos when a sandwich maker caught fire. The smoke from the fire caused a fire alarm activation and a subsequent evacuation. Remo Roncone, principal of the school, commented on the situation. “I think that the building was cleared in a timely manner [and] the response time by the fire department was exceptional.” 

But what goes on behind the scenes of evacuations? During the process, Officer Brian Jones, a school resource officer at Troy High School, helped first responders determine the source of the fire. He stated, “I was in the building when the alarm was activated. I immediately think of either the science department or the kitchen. I then helped the first responders locate the fire.” 

Both Jones and Daniel House, a vice principal of Troy High School, agreed that both the science department and kitchen are serious risks. House stated, “The science department is a risk, due to the gas and hazardous chemicals.” He continued, “The kitchen is also an obvious risk.” 

There are steps being taken to combat these risks. Aside from the emergency gas shutoffs found in chemistry labs and the fire sprinklers in the kitchen, the Michigan government’s answer is instituting drills. According to the State Police Office of School Safety, a total of five fire safety drills must be conducted by every public school in Michigan. 

In House’s opinion, the drills are a valuable resource in training. He stated, “The most effective training method is to drill, drill, drill.” 

The first response time also plays a vital role, according to Roncone. He stated, “The first firefighter to show up was in a Tesla; we didn’t even know he was a firefighter! The response time is remarkable for an all-volunteer force.” Troy is unique in that it has an all-volunteer firefighting force. This differs from major cities, such as Detroit, that have a professional force. This means that most Troy firefighters are paged away from their personal lives to help respond to emergencies, hence why some arrive in their personal vehicles. 

The panini maker was hastily moved outside by the Troy Volunteer Fire Department and extinguished. The total school time lost was approximately 15 minutes. Some might think of these drills as repetitive or annoying. But there are real cases like this, where firefighters need to act quick. At the end of the day, it all goes to show how important these seemingly routine drills are.