On Mar. 3 during fourth period the halls and classrooms of Downers Grove South rang with the sound of Principal Edward Schwartz, alerting everyone of a fire. In-person students and staff exited the building following fire protocol as remote students watched from their zoom call.

DGS had yet to practice a fire drill during the 2020-2021 school year and many first year students were unprepared for a fire evacuation.

Associate Principal Omar Davis states that the fire alarm was not set off because of an actual fire.

“Today’s evacuation was a false alarm. A construction contractor inadvertently activated a sensor which triggered the alarm. All staff and students evacuated safely,” Davis said.

Although there are planned safety drills, this evacuation occurred prior to any practice fire or safety drills. There will be more safety drills in the following weeks to ensure the safety and preparedness of DGS students.

This is not the first time a fire alarm has been activated accidentally because of construction in DGS. There have been multiple false alarms caused as a result of a construction related incident over the course of the last three years as DGS has been constantly undergoing renovations.