Home Ec Class Really Sizzles

Now that’s a hot lesson.

Students in a home economics class at Bowdish Junior High added a little sizzle to their Thursday morning lesson by overcooking some bacon and setting off the school’s fire alarms.

Members of the ninth-grade class and the rest of the students were evacuated from the school at 2109 S. Skipworth at about 9 a.m.

Two Spokane Valley Fire engines responded, but found no fire or smoke.

Within minutes, students were back in class, according to the school’s vice principal, Gordon Grassi.

“Someone was probably enjoying a BLT,” he joked.

Teacher Cheryl Hull said the students were making bacon cheeseburgers. One of the students was cooking the bacon at too high of a heat.

Luckily, the bacon was still salvageable. Nothing was burned.

Thanks to a new state-of-the-art fire alarm system, which was installed during the school’s recent remodel, the overcooked meat was quickly sensed.

The new system, unlike the old one, picks up both heat and smoke. More than likely, Grassi said, a sensor was near the students’ stove.

“We have never had it happen before,” Grassi said. “I would describe it as a rare incident.”

Actually, said Spokane Valley Fire staffer Ron Olive, “It sounds like a well-done incident to me.”