There seems to have been a bit of slack in deciding what to do with a bunch of shivering kids outside Maurice Cody School Thursday. The alarm went off and that requires evacuation of the building. Some 600 children and about 60 staff members were outside for an estimated 20 minutes before the fire department concluded there was no basis for the alarm. It’s unclear whether it was a malfunction or a mischievous false alarm. Principal Andrew Howard sent home a letter today (Friday, February 20., 2015) in which he praised senior kids for sharing coats with those who had none. And that’s the thing. Senior or junior, 20 minutes is too long to be outside in minus 20 weather without a coat. Ryan Bird of the school board said that staff apparently wanted to move the pupils to a another school but the fire department said it wouldn’t be long. Not the right call. How long is long. It’s not the fire department’s business to decide how a kid’s day is spent. It appears few people are complaining but there is a lesson. Fire commanders (or whomever) have got to be more aware of the weather in such situations. These conditions don’t happen often but it appears the fire department needs it own extreme cold weather warning. Metro
