On Tuesday morning during second period, students huddled outside of school after a defective alarm triggered an unexpected fire drill. 

A faulty screw in the fire alarm located in the band room broke off, causing the pull switch to fall and trigger the alarm.  Detective Pavao stated that this is the first time he has seen an incident like this has happened since Westford Academy’s alarms were first installed.

“I’m assuming…that over years of percussion and shaking, the screw became loose […] it’s also the band room where there’s lots of shaking and [noise].  I don’t think that could happen in a regular hallway,” Pavao said.

Students were surprised by the unanticipated drill and break from class that came along with it. However, once a fire truck pulled in, some students became confused. 

One reason students knew that something was different was the fact that they hadn’t been informed of the drill ahead of time, something that teachers normally do.  One student, sophomore Richa Juvekar, recalled the incident in the flag lobby after school. 

“[…] it was kind of scary once we realized that it wasn’t a drill.  It was nice to leave the classroom, but once you see the fire truck going by you realize that it’s not [planned],” Juvekar said.

As alarming as the situation was to students and staff, the response by the Westford fire department helped to ensure that the problem was fixed and that everyone could continue their day as normal.