Fire interrupts swim team practice

By Alexa D'Amato

 On Thursday, January 6, there was a fire during Masco’s swim team practice at the Bennett Center at Gordon College when a light above the pool was on fire in the middle of the team’s practice.

  “At first I thought there was just some dust, then after a minute or so, the light started smoking then caught on fire,” said varsity coach Heather Rousseau.

  Varsity swimmer junior Paige Panagos was in the swim lane under the light when it caught fire.

  “I was questioning how I hadn’t seen it even though I was swimming in the lane almost below the light that was burning,” said Panagos.

  Swimmer and diver junior Meghan Burr saw what she assumed was dust falling from the ceiling.

  “Originally when I saw the fire we actually didn't think it was a fire. The pool is in an older building, so when we saw stuff coming down from the ceiling we just thought we could ignore it,” said Burr.

  When the fire was spotted by swimmer Anna Halilaj, the team evacuated the Bennett Center.

  “I wished Gordon College was more prepared for a fire at the pool, as the first fire alarm our coach pulled broke and could have put many people in danger had there been a larger fire,” said Panagos.

  Rousseau started the season by preparing the team for what to do in the case of an emergency.

  “The team was definitely prepared, because I start every season off reviewing the emergency action plan for the training facility. We go over locations of exits, the AED (Automated External Defibrillator) and fire alarms. We also go through the exact sequence of events that need to happen in an emergency including calling 911,” said Rousseau.

  The athletes also get emergency practice at school, although there are some differences in school and Bennett Center fire procedure.

  “The evacuation was definitely different than the fire drills at school, we were in the pool so we were told to get our stuff as fast as possible and run outside and many of us were actually still wearing swim caps, so it was a much more urgent evacuation rather than the orderly ones we do at school,” said Burr.

  Panagos noted one key difference between the practice fire drills at school and the actual emergency.

  “We went through emergency protocols so we were definitely prepared, along with the drills we practice at school. Although, since this was not a drill, we ran instead of walking,” said Panagos.

  Because of the minor damage caused to the pool area, the team was not able to practice for days. The team spent one of their off days bowling.

  “We bonded over how terrible we were at bowling,” said Panagos.

  Despite the fire, the team’s dynamic hasn’t changed.

  “Not much has changed because our team has been a tight group from the start so this didn’t have much of an impact. They spend a lot of time together in and out of the pool,” said Rousseau.

  With the team hoping to make it to States, their relentless positivity and ability to carry on are valuable assets.