2021 Bid For Cause: Part 1, Fire Safety

In 1997, I set off the GCS high school fire alarm. Well, I think I did, anyway. My 10th-grade classmate, Peter (also a GCS parent now, consequently), and I were walking to class through the crowded halls when, just as we passed the fire alarm pull station, the alarm went off, and we all exited the building. Later that day Peter and I found ourselves in the principal’s office explaining that it was possible we had brushed the alarm with our shoulders or backpacks as we were passing but definitely not intentional. Twenty-four years later I find myself wondering how it is possible that my own children now pass the very same fire-pull station! It is our God-given responsibility to care for the lives of our students and to realize that our buildings are decades behind what is now considered essential fire safety design. We must be intentional about changing that.

This is where the fire safety part of this year’s Bid for Cause comes in. Reaching Level One ($30,000) would mean earlier detection in our Pre-K, ES, MS, HS, and Activities Center buildings. Some of these locations currently have no detection system at all. Instead of a poorly-placed 1967 fire-pull station at the high school (dependent on a human pulling it, someone hearing it, and someone independently contacting the fire department), we would have fire, smoke, and heat detection throughout all of our buildings with direct communication to the fire department.  This means that if a small fire starts in the boiler room, we are not waiting until someone notices smoke filling the locker hallway to pull the alarm, then waiting on someone else to call 911. At Level One, strobe lights would be installed in public areas, such as hallways and restrooms, to alert anyone who is hearing-impared or wearing headphones. This early detection, early alert to the fire department, and added visual alarms provide essential extra time to get everyone safely out of the building.

Reaching Level 2 would include the upgrade of a loud verbal fire alarm command to evacuate, which pairs perfectly with another focus of the Bid for Cause: lockdown safety.  Instead of what we currently have (two separate but similar alarms) we would have a very clear fire alarm: “EVACUATE!” and a very clear lockdown alarm: “LOCKDOWN!” (More about the lockdown safety in Part 2.)

Is it possible we will never need to use these upgrades in a true fire crisis in the future? It is. Is it possible Peter and I didn’t actually set off the fire alarm in high school? It is. But now that we all know better, we must be intentional about doing better. We cannot closely look at the fire safety system we have at the school today and honestly say that it is the best we can do. 

If you would like to learn more about this years’ Bid for Cause, see this video of a chat I had with Facilities Director Randy Knight which can be found here on our YouTube channel. While you are there, subscribe and click on the bell for alerts so you will be ready to view and chat during our live auction on April 10th at 7:00 PM!