DID SOMEONE CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT?

There was some unexpected excitement during the Maryland Baltimore Mission zone conference in Annapolis on Tuesday morning when the local fire alarm in the Church building suddenly went off while we were assembled in the chapel participating in our training program.

A young missionary was standing at the pulpit speaking to the group when the emergency strobe lights and loud buzzers associated with the fire alarm system went into action accompanied by a voice recording directing everyone to immediately leave the building because a fire had been detected. As the missionaries arose from their seats and began to comply with the instruction, one of the women of the Church who were preparing our lunch rushed into the chapel and announced that there wasn't actually a fire but only some smoke caused by some food that had been left on the heating element in one of the ovens from an earlier meal.

Anne Arundel County firemen on the scene

There were two problems, however, that still had to be dealt with as a result of the alarm having been activated:

• The alarm automatically alerts the Anne Arundel County Fire Department that there is a possible fire in progress at the Church building; and even though the women had immediately telephoned the firemen to tell them what happened, they are required by law to respond to the scene and verify that there is no fire.

• No one in the building had a key to access the equipment closet downstairs to reset the alarm, so the missionary conference could not continue due to the flashing lights and loud buzzers that were sounding throughout the building.

In less than ten minutes the firetruck and crew arrived, and the firemen went to the kitchen to ascertain whether or not there was any danger of fire. Then they proceeded to the lock box outside the building to retrieve the key that opens the equipment closet in order to reset the alarm. Only then did we collectively learn that the key in the box wouldn't give them access to either the building or the closet. Apparently, the Church leaders had recently re-keyed the building; but in so doing, they failed to either notify the fire company or place a new master key in the lock box.  Fortunately, one of the local Church leaders lives nearby, and he rushed over with the correct key, so peace and tranquility were then restored.

Church members who accidentally set off the fire alarm

Those good-hearted sisters who prepared the meal for our meeting were embarrassed by all of the commotion that started in the kitchen; but it truly wasn't anything that they did to cause the problem.  Although the mission president held two other zone conferences in other parts of the Maryland Baltimore Mission during the week, only this one featured those special lighting and sound effects!