A small fire accompanied by lots of smoke occurred around 10 a.m. on Friday, November 20 in the Diane and David B. Heller Auditorium.  The cause was a flammable cotton piano cover inadvertently placed on top of one the floor-mounted light fixtures on the auditorium stage.

According to auditorium manager Tommy Nolan, the black cover was ‘’thrown onto the darkness of the stage” during orchestra practice some time between 7:30 and 8 that morning.

The fire was discovered after the lower school Morning Ex, which took place that morning without issue.  Some time after then, fourth grade teacher Miriam Pickus discovered smoke while searching for music teacher and department co-chair Kingsley Tang in the auditorium.

She called for Nolan, who ran backstage and grabbed a fire extinguisher. After putting out the fire, Nolan found music teacher Alec Synakowski, who alerted the front office of the situation.

“The fire was taken care of quickly,” Nolan said, but the smoke was significant. Smoke had reached the balcony, and administrators were concerned about students breathing “that kind of air,” according to Assistant Principal Ruth Jurgensen.  The second Morning Ex, intended for older students, was canceled.

It could have been a lot worse, according to Nolan.  The piano cover likely sat on the light for about three hours before catching fire. This event, Nolan said, “speaks to how fireproof everything is in that room.”  The curtain and floor are fireproof, and had the flames spread, the sprinkling system or heat and smoke detectors would have kept the school safe regardless.

According to Jurgensen, “We dodged a bullet.”