Be thankful. Did you know that one of the reasons that schools are required to have regular fire drills is because of a disastrous fire 95 years ago? At the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York, the employers were concerned that their employees, mainly teenage females, would leave work early. So they set up the factory so that there would only be one way out and padlocked or otherwise barricaded all other exits.
One day, near closing time, a fire broke out in the factory, on the same side of the building as the only exit. In the next twenty minutes, approximately 125 young women died. Many, in an attempt to escape the flames, jumped to their death out of the 9th-story windows. When the case was finally settled, the owners were required to pay $75 (equal to $1484.84 today) per life lost and the worker's rights movement gained momentum. Now, there have to be fire escapes from evey building, and everyone has to know where they are.
So next time you're sent outside in the dead of winter to stand around for a fire drill, be glad. Because if not, what happened to those girls could very well happen today, over and over again.
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In the first place, those who complain about fire drills must be really stupid.
Unfortunately, a lot of kids complain about fire drills. Heck, I did! I mean, they always happened the day I didnt have my coat because it was the one day that happened to be cold when it had been sunny for several weeks continuously. And then, they made us wait what seemed like an eternity to go back inside. I thought everyone complained about them? Maybe I was just the only one . . .
Even though I hope I will never have to experience a fire drill ever again, if I do, I will remember what you said and not complain. Its true, its only for our safety.
Oh and just some advice, if you really wanted to tie this topic to current and progressive news, perhaps you could find some statistics on school fires that have occured somewhat recently etc . . . I think it would help prove your case a lot better because everyone always seems to think, 'Sure it happened then, but it could NEVER happen now! Besides, we're AMERICA!'
Francesca Chambers