BY ROSA PRESTON

Ever heard of, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf?” It’s a classic story about a boy who lies to his village and eventually is believed to be lying when he’s really in trouble. Well, in this situation, it’s somewhat similar, but with the potential for more people suffering than just the shepherd boy.

On September 17th, students at Truman were walking to their 4th hour when the fire alarm went off. After attempting to get outside like students were taught, which wasn’t allowed by their teachers, they went back inside to learn it was a false alarm. While this is both annoying and a waste of time, it’s still considered an insignificant event, but it can actually have a lot more consequences than it seems for everyone involved.

Pulling the fire alarm falsely not only has the potential to put students and faculty in danger, but it also puts that student in a bad situation. According to Jeff Nunn, the School Resource Officer, “Students who do this think it’s funny or to get a laugh from their peers who aren’t concerned about the safety of others. It’s selfish and foolish.” And speaking of foolishness, remember the boy who cried wolf? It’s because they’re related. If this keeps happening, students may take fire alarms less seriously. If firefighters had been called, they would become suspicious if they’re called to the school again. Plus, if someone pulls the fire alarm, they have a good chance of being suspended, and possibly facing charges of misdemeanor.

But now, let’s talk about the positives of this event. As most would expect, students were previously taught what to do if the fire alarm goes off, and it seemed like most students attempted to do what they were taught. They weren’t allowed to go outside due to everyone being called back in. Every student is taught via a fire drill, in which all students line up in their appropriate classes and exit the building safely with their instructor. From there, the teacher will take attendance to make sure everyone is safe and not in the building still. “All of my students (seniors) went downstairs as if they were actually going to exit the building,” the school’s German teacher, Stephanie Gipfert, had to say. And it’s good that it was taken seriously, because it’s very important to do so. “It’s only as effective as the students make it, so if they aren’t taking it seriously, they are putting themselves and their classmates in potential danger,” Mr. Nunn explained during the interview. Luckily, with the exception of the person (or people) who pulled the fire alarm, most students seemed to behave like it was either a drill or a real fire, and most students took it as a serious event. Not to mention most students weren’t exactly amused by the supposed joke that one student decided to play. Take Kaine Ene, a senior, for example, who claimed, “The only way it affected my day is that it took a little time out of it, and time is valuable to me. Although, it wasn’t much time to me so that wasn’t my concern. What was my concern is that someone thought it was a good idea to do it in the first place.”

It’s really important to take fire safety seriously, as it can be a big problem for a lot of or all the people involved. Belongings get burned, traumas develop, and people are injured or killed. If it’s not taken seriously, the consequences are big. Pulling the fire alarm for a joke isn’t funny in the slightest, as it’s a lose-lose situation for anyone. Unlike the well known fable, there may not be a happy ending to it. So for the love of all things loud, DON’T pull the fire alarm.